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WINNING HIS 
DEGREE 



















































* 







“ ‘ Who is Splinter?’ inquired 
his friend quietly.” 




Page 29 




WINNING HIS 
DEGREE 


EVERETT T. TOMLINSON 

'V 

AUTHOR OF 

“ The Ward Hill Series,” “ The Blue and Buff Series ” 

” The War of 1812 Series ” 

" Three Colonial Boys,” “ The Rider of the Black Horse ” 
“ Winning His ' W,’ ” etc. 



PHILADELPHIA 

Zbc (Brtffitb & IRowlanD lPc cee 

1905 



USRA.RY of =iOfifi*?£ss] 
(wo 3op»es riweimj 

SEP. 7 190$ 

Sopyiwu tniry 

CUl* /, t*fO 

'{/ ^ A&E* WOl 

/liU? 

COPY 3. * 


Copyright 1905 by the 
American Baptist Publication Society 

Published August, 1905 



jfrom tbe Society’* own press 


PREFACE 


In this story, as in its predecessors, I have en- 
deavored to give the records of a student neither pre- 
ternaturally good nor unnaturally bad. Freshman 
year has usually been made the basis of college stories. 
The pranks and escapades of that time of trial have 
provided well-nigh unending subjects in which many 
have been interested. The work, struggles, and ex- 
periences of an upper classman, however, have been 
seldom recorded, and in this tale I have gone into path- 
ways largely left by most writers of school and college 
stories. The life of a college junior (and senior) con- 
tains so much that is interesting, the experiences are so 
attractive, that I have ventured in this book to enter 
into some of them. If the lesson of the lessons, and 
the unwritten, but no less real problems faced and 
grappled with shall lead my young readers into a little 
clearer perception of “what it is all for,” the writer 
will feel that his labor has not been in vain. 

Everett T. Tomlinson. 

Elizabeth, N. J. 





LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 


‘ Who is Splinter ?’ inquired his friend quietly .” 
Frontispiece 29 

1 Have some cream , Mr. Phelps t ’ called Mott from his place 
on the table” 79 


* I dcm’J see why you say that,’ replied Mott reproachfully” . 102 


1 But — but — but — my dear woman, I haven’t any butter for 
sale ’ ” 124 


/ 


I My second point,’ he continued after a brief and effective 

pause , ‘ is this ’ ” . * 168 . 

‘ Yes, now I understand just what a touchdown is,’ 
continued Miss Stone ” 178 

I I took it out of my vest when I put on my sweater this 

afternoon ’” 196 

‘ You can take Miss Stone back, anyway, and that’s the 
main thing ’ ” 221 

‘ That’s the end of that,’ he said to himself grimly as he 
watched the paper curl” 280 - 

When it once more came Will’s turn to receive he stepped 
farther back ” 258 

Out in the canoe ... the interest of either did not flag” . 285 y 

‘ I see what you mean. Thank you for your good words. 
Goodnight ’” 


SOI / 


\ \ 






' 













CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 

I. The Return 11 

II. A New Acquaintance 21 

III. An Informal Call 31 

IV. A Proposition 41 

V. Proverbial Wisdom 50 

VI. A Disappearance at the President’s House . 60 

VII. In the Freshman’s Room 70 

VIII. The Class Meeting 79 

IX. An Election 89 

X. The Rapid, Rounded, Rolling Orb 99 

XI. Realism 109 

XII. Butter of Kine 118 

XIII. Will’s Assistance 127 

XIV. The Result of an Interview 137 

XV. The Freshman’s Warning 147 

XVI. The Preliminary Debate 157 

ix 


X 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER PAGE 

XVII. The Award 107 

XVIII. The Game with Alden 176 

XIX. A Pointed Interview 185 

XX. More Losses 195 

XXI. A Deserted House 205 

XXII. An Adventure 215 

XXIII. A Long Pull 224 

XXIV. The Tournament 234 

XXV. Fears and Misgivings * . , . . 244 

XXVI. The Singles 254 

XXVII. The Doubles 264 

XXVIII. An Unexpected Letter 274 

XXIX. A Call by Bonnett 283 

XXX. The Senior Class Elections 293 

XXXI. Conclusion 303 


Winning His Degree 

CHAPTER I 

THE RETURN 

I TELL you, Foster, this is great ! ” 

" So I have heard you remark something like 
ninety and nine times.” 

"Well, one more won’t count, will it? But it is 
great, now isn’t it, Foster ? ” 

“ It certainly is. I think you’ve heard me say so 
often enough to believe that I mean it.” 

" There isn’t a place in the world like Winthrop ! ” 
" Do you mean that as a startling piece of informa- 
tion ? ” 

"Ho. But you don’t get as enthusiastic as you 
ought to, you know.” 

" You mean I don’t show it in the same way that 
you do.” 

" If you felt it, you’d show it. You couldn’t help 
yourself.” 

Foster Bennett turned to the young man in the car- 
seat beside him, and the smile on his face betrayed 
the deep affection he felt for his classmate and room- 
mate, Will Phelps. For two years they had been 

11 


12 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


students together in Winthrop College, and now they 
were returning after the long summer vacation to 
resume their tasks and enter upon their life as 
juniors in the college that had become so dear to 
their hearts. Even in the preparatory school they 
had been classmates and intimate friends, their homes 
were in the same little city, and throughout their 
young lives they had shared their experiences and 
possessions after the manner of boys. And now they 
were juniors ! The very name of the class to which 
they belonged brought a thrill to Will’s heart, for he 
was ever impulsive, warm-hearted, enthusiastic, and 
the more self-contained manner of his roommate he 
well knew concealed a feeling as deep as that within 
his own heart, though it seldom manifested itself in 
the exuberant manner with which Will Phelps was 
ever wont to display the impulses that swayed him. 
“ He wore his h°art upon his sleeve,” as he laughingly 
declared ; but the greater dignity of his friend seldom 
prevented him from displaying his enthusiasm over 
whatever appealed to his feelings. The dignity of 
being an upper-classman rested with all due weight 
upon Will, and he looked forward to the coming ex- 
periences with almost as much enthusiasm as that 
with which he had first come to Winthrop just two 
years before. It was now about the middle of the 
afternoon. Early that morning they had left their 
homes in Sterling, and would be due in Winthrop 
within an hour. At Peter’s Junction there would 
doubtless be a large number of students to join them 


THE RETURN 


13 


and, as they would arrive at the Junction within a 
half-hour, Will found himself looking forward with 
eagerness to the time when he would behold the famil- 
iar faces of his classmates and college friends. 

The conversation was maintained for the most part 
by Will, for Foster had listened smilingly to the 
words of his enthusiastic chum, replying only when 
occasion seemed to demand. From the windows of 
the car Will could look out upon the region through 
which they were passing — a region that had become 
so familiar to him that he looked upon the sloping 
hillsides and fertile valleys, and even upon the 
weather-beaten abodes of the farmers, as he did upon 
the features of the friends he had made thus far in 
his college course. They were all a part of his life; 
in a sense they all belonged to him. 

Perhaps unconsciously Will Phelps was beginning 
to appreciate the truth that all a man can ever truly 
call his is that which he possesses with his inner life. 
The deeds to the fertile farm-lands might be recorded 
in other names, but the sunlight on the summits of 
the hills, the coloring of the golden grain, the peace- 
fulness of the entire scene were his, though not bought 
with money. A man may own a library of ten thou- 
sand volumes, but all of it that he really possesses 
is that which he has appropriated by his own reading. 
Will Phelps had learned many things that had not 
been outlined in the prescribed course of study, and 
it may have been that as he gazed from the window of 
the car, as he was swiftly borne through the familiar 


14 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


region, that he was dimly aware of some things which 
he had attained that he could not have explained 
even to his closest friend, Foster Bennett. 

In a moment, however, his meditations were broken 
in upon by the nasal call of the trainman, “Peter’s 
Junction! Peter’s Junction! All out for Peter’s 
Junction ! Change cars for Mesopotamia, Paris, 
Conkling’s Four Corners.” An indescribable jargon 
of the names of other towns was added to the list, and 
at last, as the rumbling train came to a standstill, 
breathless he returned to his first declaration : 
“Peter’s Junction! Peter’s Junction! All out for 
Peter’s Junction. This train for Ten ton, Winthrop, 
Bakersville and J ordan ! ” 

Will waited to hear no more, but leaping into the 
aisle, with a call to his friend to hold his seat for him, 
he swiftly made his way toward the platform. Already 
he had obtained a glimpse of the thronging crowd 
of college boys that was to be seen there waiting for 
the arrival of the incoming train, and the noisy 
shouts and cheers had sounded like music in his ears. 

With a rush the horde boarded the train, shouting 
their words of welcome as some classmate was recog- 
nized, and Will Phelps, after he had grasped the 
outstretched hand of many whom he loudly greeted, 
quickly returned to his seat beside Foster. Some of 
the students were standing in the aisle, and directly 
beside the seat in which the two juniors were was a 
tall, heavy, powerful young man whom Will instantly 
recognized as Wilkins, the captain of the baseball 


THE RETURN 


15 


nine a year before. A member of the same fraternity 
to which both Will and Foster belonged, they had 
come to know him well, and a shout of greeting went 
up as they reached forth and dragged him down to 
a seat on the rail beside them. 

Wilkins, phlegmatic, good-natured, imperturbable, 
laughingly responded to their demonstrations and at 
once took the place to which they had dragged him. 

“ Why, Wilkins, old man, how did you happen to 
be here?” demanded Will. “ It is as good as a pre- 
scription to set eyes on you again. Better, I’ve no 
doubt, than any prescription you could write.” Wil- 
kins for the past year had been a student in a famous 
medical school, which explained to those who knew, 
the reference the enthusiastic junior made in his 
greeting. 

“I’d like to prescribe once for you, Will. Just 
once. One would be enough,” responded the hero. 
There was a drawl in his words that was at once a 
characteristic of the young man and the delight of 
his friends. 

“ I’d almost be willing to take it if you were only 
to be back in Winthrop with us.” 

“Ho. I’ve put away childish things. I’ve finished 
my course. I’ve just come up for a day or two to see 
how you kids will run things.” 

“ You stay and you’ll see, all right ! ” laughed Will. 

“How’s Splinter?” inquired Wilkins, his eyes 
twinkling as he referred to one of the professors by 
the name by which the teacher was known among the 


16 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


students , 1 though it must be acknowledged that this 
“ title” did not appear on the pages of the college 
catalogue. As Will Phelps had had troubles of his 
own with the man referred to, he understood at once 
the implication in his friend’s query. 

“He’s all right,” responded Will lightly. “At 
least he was last June. I haven’t seen him since, and 
I don’t correspond with him. I’ve done with him, 
but I sha’n’t hold any grudge against him. He can’t 
help himself, so I don’t blame him.” 

“ Good of you, Will,” drawled Wilkins. 

“ Of course it’s good of me. I can’t help that, 
either. It’s the way I was born.” 

“ I want to tell you, though, you kid junior, that 
you’ll think his work was play, just play, when you 
get into the medical school.” 

“ I sha’n’t get in there unless some of you sharks 
drag me in to find out with your knives and things 
what my lungs are made of and if my nervous system 
is built on the proper plan.” 

“ Speaking of nerves ” drawled Wilkins. 

“Yes. What of them?” demanded Will. 

“ Would you fellows say I had any nerves? ” 

“Nerves? Nerves? You’re all nerves, Wilkins, 
a huge nerve. You’re just nerve and praeterea nihil ” 

“ Listen to the kid ! ” laughed Wilkins. “ Is that 
supposed to be Latin ? ” 

“ You wouldn’t know if I told you. But it is Latin, 
and good Latin too ! ” 


1 See “ Winning His * W.’ ” 


THE RETURN 


17 


“ I’ll take your word for it. But honestly, do you 
fellows think I have any nerves ? ” 

" Why ? ” said Foster. 

" Because some of the fellows in the medical school 
say I haven’t/’ 

“ They don’t know you, then. Send them up here 
to Winthrop and we can give them a point or two,” 
said Will. 

"I might have done that, but they took another 
way to find out,” said Wilkins slowly. His round face 
was expressionless, but both boys knew at once that 
he had some experience to relate, and so Will said 
quickly, "Tell us about it, Willie.” As Wilkins 
weighed two hundred and thirty pounds, the pet name 
by which the giant had been known among his fellows 
became almost ludicrous. But the names "Willie” 
and "Little Willie” had tenaciously clung to him 
throughout his college days. 

"Why, all there is of it is that some of the boys 
declared I hadn’t a nerve in my body, but some didn’t 
appear to agree with them, so one night they decided 
to put it to a test and find out.” 

" Did they find out ? ” inquired Foster. 

"They did,” replied Wilkins soberly. 

" What did they do ? How did they find out ?” 

" Oh, I was doing some extra work in the dissecting 
room ” 

" Horrible ! ” interrupted Will. 

"What’s horrible?” demanded Wilkins sharply. 
" If you mean the way some of the fellows did it, why, 

B 


18 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


it certainly was. If you mean the dissecting itself, 
why, I can tell you it’s the most wonderful, the most 
beautiful thing in the world.” 

“ I’ll take your word for it,” said Will quickly. 
“ Go on with your story.” 

“ We’d had a fresh subject sent in. It was the body 
of a chap who had pulled too hard on the end of a rope 
and overdone the matter, so to speak.” 

“ Do you mean he had been hanged f ” demanded 
Will, aghast. 

“ That’s what some people vulgarly term it, I 
understand. At any rate, there was the subject on the 
table, and I received special permission to do some 
work on it the evening after it came.” 

“You wanted to do it? You don’t mean to say 
you wanted to do it ? ” 

“ Of course I did. That’s what I was there for, 
wasn’t it? I tell you, my kid friend, men don’t go 
to a medical school to shirk. They go there to work. 
And they have to work too ! Well, some of my friends 
found out what was going on, and they thought they’d 
test my nerve.” 

“You didn’t know anything about it?” inquired 
Foster. 

“ Not a word. They got into the room before I did 
and they rigged up some wires on that subject. ’Twas 
a shame. I don’t believe in treating even the corpse 
of a man that had been hanged in such a way as that.” 

“ But you’d cut it up.” 

“ Why, yes. Surely I would ! That’s what I was 


THE RETURN 


19 


there for, wasn’t it? Well, those fellows rigged their 
wires just as they wanted to and then they all left 
just before I came, all except one, and he crawled 
under a table in the room to stay and find out about 
my nerves. I put on my uniform and got to work 
right away; but before I’d fairly begun, all at once 
the right arm of the poor fellow shot right up from 
the table and then fell back with a thud.” 

“ What did you do, then ? ” 

“ I took the arm and put it back in place, and 
when I began again the other arm shot right up just 
as the other one had done.” 

“ Didn’t you quit then? ” demanded Will. 

“ ‘ Quit ’ ? No. Why should I quit ? I put it back 
where it belonged and then I began again. In about 
a minute — I think the fellow under the table was 
beginning to get a trifle impatient, for he gave the 
wire such a jerk — the arm went up again, and when 
it fell it dropped right on the back of my neck and 
stayed there.” 

“ Quit, Wilkins ! You’ve told enough,” said Will 
hastily. > 

“ Go on, Willie ! I want to hear it all,” suggested 
Foster. “ What did you do ? ” 

“ I was bending over the table, of course, when the 
thing happened; but I reached up and put the arm 
back in its place. I believe too, that I indulged in 
some remarks. At least that’s my recollection,” said 
Wilkins, not a muscle of his impassive face moving 
as he spoke. 


20 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ What did you say ? ” inquired Will, whose interest 
had again been aroused. 

“ To the best of my belief and recollection, I deliv- 
ered an apostrophe to the late departed. I said, ‘ Look 
here, old man, don’t you know that isn’t any way to 
act in here? You’re the worst-behaved subject I’ve 
ever carved yet. I don’t wonder that you were hanged. 
I’d help do it myself. Now will you be good or shall 
I be compelled to resort to corporal punishment ? ’ ” 

“ Was it good?” 

“ Quiet as a mouse. You see, I’d found the wire, 
and then I understood what was going on. I didn’t 
pretend to let on that I knew, but I saw it led to the 
place under the table. I happened to know the table 
had been broken that day and wouldn’t stand much, 
so I sauntered over to it and sat down upon it.” 

“What happened then?” said Foster. 

“Why, it went down with a bang, and I found 
myself sitting on something or somebody that was 
squirming and yelling good. < Hello ! ’ I said. ‘ Here’s 
another one of those live dead men. I’ll put you on 
the table with your friend here and see if you’ll not 
behave better than he did when I begin/ But do you 
know, before I could get my hands on him he let out 
a yell you could have heard half a mile away and 
bolted out the door. Do you know,” Wilkins added 
soberly, “ I’ve had my suspicions that that second chap 
wasn’t really dead? He was really more alive than 
he thought he was. But he wouldn’t wait for me to 
find out.” 


CHAPTER II 


A NEW ACQUAINTANCE 

T HE gruesome story which Wilkins had related 
without a change in the expression of his stolid 
face at another time might have aroused a dif- 
ferent feeling in the heart of Will Phelps, but the 
boyish laughter and the shouts of the college boys, 
who appeared to have taken possession of the car as if 
it was theirs by divine right, created an atmosphere 
in which it was impossible for any one to take a 
morose or despondent view of life. Both Foster and 
Will laughed heartily at the tale, and the latter said : 

“ They won’t try it again, Willie ! Did you have to 
operate on the poor chap you sat upon ? ” 

“ Hot yet. My time will come, though. I’ve 
learned to wait. ‘ Everything comes to him who 
waits/ you know.” 

“ He won’t wait for you,” laughed Will. 

“ Oh, yes, he will,” responded Wilkins. “ He knows 
I’m waiting for him and he’ll just have to wait for 
my time. He can’t do anything else, you see.” 

“Do you really enjoy the work?” inquired Foster 
seriously. 

“ It’s the greatest work in all the world,” replied 

Wilkins. “ Why, just take the human hand ” 

“ Whose hand ? ” demanded Will demurely. 

21 


22 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ Mine. Yours. Anybody’s. It’s the most won- 
derful piece of mechanism in all the world. I’ve got 
a lance in my pocket, and if you’ll kindly place your 
hand in mine I’ll show you a thing or two.” 

“ Take Foster’s,” suggested Will with a laugh, as 
he hastily drew his own hand back. “ I’ll be as gen- 
erous with him as Artemas Ward was with all his 
wife’s relations when there was a call for men to 
enlist.” 

“ I won’t hurt you,” persisted Wilkins soberly. 

“ Not if the court understands itself,” replied Will. 

“ Say, Will,” said Wilkins, abruptly changing the 
subject, “ wasn’t Mott a close friend of yours when 
he was in college ? ” 

“You mean Jack Mott that left college last year, 
at the invitation of the faculty ? ” 

“ Yes. I met him last night in New York, and he 
told me he was one of the closest friends you had when 
he was here.” 

“ He certainly was ‘ close,’ ” said Will with a laugh. 
“ I asked him to lend me the loan of five dollars once, 
and the way in which he said ‘ No ’ made me believe 
he certainly was ‘ close,’ if that’s what you mean.” 

“ Not exactly,” replied Wilkins. “ He said ” 

“ Oh, I know what he said,” interrupted Will. “ I 
can give you the whole story just as he told it to you. 
Yes, he was a ‘ close ’ friend. He couldn’t put it too 
strongly, either. Why, do you know, he not only 
wouldn’t lend me five dollars that time when I asked 
for it, but he even got Peter John Schenck to go down 


A NEW ACQUAINTANCE 


23 


to Tommie’s and have a lot of pies and cakes charged 
up to my account. And once he and Peter John even 
had the nerve to come up to my room and treat me 
with some of the pies he had just got at Tommie’s and 
had had charged to me. Oh, yes, he was a ‘ close ’ 
enough friend.” 

“ He’d have done almost as well as you, Willie, in 
the dissecting room,” suggested Foster, laughing 
loudly as he spoke. 

“ Oh, you could have put him on the table and not 
been able to cut through his epidermis. The fellow 
was so f close ’ he’d never give up even in a quarrel. 
He wouldn’t give up anything.” 

“ Yes, he would,” suggested Foster. 

“What, I’d like to know?” inquired Will sharply, 
turning to his roommate. 

“Well, if I recollect aright, he had an elongated 
lingual appendage, and there wasn’t a fellow in col- 
lege freer with it than he was.” 

“ An abnormal labial development too ? ” said Wil- 
kins soberly. 

“ Precisely. He was generous with it too, to a 
fault,” replied Foster. 

“ What about him ? ” inquired Will. “ What made 
you speak of him? Was it just because he declared 
he was one of my ‘ closest’ friends? He certainly 
was, if that’s all there was to it.” 

“That wasn’t all,” said Wilkins, standing up in 
the aisle and fumbling in his pockets as he spoke. 
“ Ah, yes, here it is. As I told you, I met him last 


24 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


night in New York, and when I told him I was com- 
ing up to Winthrop for a day or two, to be here when 
the year opened, he told me about you. He really 
seemed to have a good warm feeling for you too, as 
far as I could judge. At all events, he went into the 
library of the house where we were, and pretty soon he 
came out with a letter which he wanted me to give to 
you. Here it is,” added Wilkins as he held forth the 
missive to which he had referred. 

“ Thank you. Fm highly honored,” laughed Will 
as he thrust the envelope in his own pocket. " Fll 
read it later when my nerves are stronger.” 

“ He wasn’t all bad,” suggested Foster. 

" I didn’t say he was, did I ? ” retorted Will. “ My 
sole remark was about his e close ’ friendship. Ditto 
the development of his nerve. I say, Willie, what’s 
the scientific term for nerve ? ” 

"I haven’t got as far as that yet,” drawled Wil- 
kins. 

“ Well, when you do, then let me know. You have 
to learn all the Latin terms, don’t you ? ” 

"We’re supposed to.” 

“ And some are in Greek too, aren’t they ? ” 

" Yes. Some of them are ‘ all Greek ’ to me.” 

" Same here,” laughed Will. "I’d shake if I wasn’t 
afraid to put my hand in that capacious receptacle of 
yours, even for a minute. But I never could see for 
my part what the old fellows wanted to give names 
in Latin or Greek to such trifling little matters as our 
bones or nerves for.” 


A NEW ACQUAINTANCE 


25 


“ It’s so that all the world can know.” 

“That must be it,” laughed Will. “‘ Language 
was devised to conceal thought/ ” 

“No, it's all right,” persisted Wilkins soberly. 
“ You see, Latin is a sort of universal language, and 
the American and Englishman, the Frenchman and 
the German can all understand what’s meant if it’s 
in Latin.” 

“ Oh, I see. I see perfectly. I had some botany 
last spring. Oh, not enough to hurt me,” Will has- 
tily added with a laugh, as an expression of mock 
seriousness appeared on the face of Wilkins. “We 
had a lot of scientific terms to learn, mostly Latin, 
I think, though a few were in Choctaw and some in 
Portuguese. When we had done up the term’s work 
and looked back over the wreck of time, I confess that 
I felt a little like Bud Willoughby — you know him, 
don’t you? He’s a junior now.” 

“ Yes, I remember him. What was it he said ? ” 

“ Oh, yes. I’d almost forgotten about that. Well, 
Bud fell in with me on our way to the exam, last 
spring, and he was fearfully down too. He said he’d 
been up almost all the night trying to fix a few of 
those botanical terms in his mind, but for the life of 
him all that he could recall were the aurora borealis 
and the delirium tremens 

“ He passed all right, didn’t he? ” inquired Wilkins 
soberly. 

“ Yes. He just got through.” 

“ How was it with you, Will ? ” 


26 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ Will got a B.,” said Foster promptly. “ One 
might think to hear Will talk that he didn’t do any 
work, but he’s going to be one of the high-stand men 
in the class before we graduate.” 

“ ‘ Future conditional sentence, less vivid form/ 
as my distinguished preceptor, Doctor Splinter, would 
remark,” laughed Will, though his face flushed 
slightly at the words of his friend. 

“ That’s all right, Will. You’re not such a fool — ” 

“As I appear to be?” interrupted Will with a 
laugh. 

“ You’re not such a fool as not to understand what 
you’re in Winthrop for,” said Wilkins. “ You may 
well remember the advice of one of the alumni — 
that’s me, I’d have you know — that the fellow who 
doesn’t learn to work when he is in college is the 
fellow who doesn’t learn afterwards. Oh, I know 
what you’re going to say,” Wilkins added hastily as 
he perceived that Will was about to interrupt him. 
“I know all about the stuff that’s talked, but you mark 
my words, my youthful friend ! When you arrive at 
my exalted position, and look back and look down on 
the various and varied permutations and combina- 
tions of undergraduate life, you too will understand 
what I am saying. A fellow is here for business. 
That’s what I mean.” 

“We’re here, anyway,” retorted Will quickly, as 
he perceived that the train was slowly approaching 
the station at Winthrop. 

In a moment the car was filled with confusion as 


A NEW ACQUAINTANCE 


27 


the entire student body arose and every boy, his 
hands filled with bags or bundles, made a rush for the 
exit. Almost as if it had been the work of magic 
the cars were emptied and a noisy body of students 
was shouting, calling, saluting on the crowded plat- 
form of the little station. 

“ Come on, fellows ! ” called Will to his two 
friends. “ Let’s walk up.” 

“ That’s right,” responded Wilkins. “ Here, take 
my baggage checks, will you, and have my bags sent 
up to the house along with your trunks ? ” 

“ All right,” responded Will hastily, taking Fos- 
ter’s checks as well as those of Wilkins and his own, 
and rushing toward an expressman he discovered in 
the crowd. 

In a brief time he returned to the spot where his 
friends were awaiting him, and as he elbowed his way 
to them he called out, “ That’s one of the things a 
fellow has to be thankful for.” 

“ What thing ? ” inquired Wilkins. 

“ That he’s a junior and has learned how to get his 
baggage up to the house. See the poor freshmen.” 
As he spoke Will pointed derisively at the mob of stu- 
dents, many of whom seemed to be at a total loss as 
to what they were to do or where they were to go. 

“ Stop and help them, Will. You’re a junior now 
and must stand by the freshmen.” 

“ I’ll stand by them. Lucky if I don’t have to be 
sat on for them too. Come on.” 

As they turned into the street that led toward the 


28 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


colleges Will for the first time was aware that there 
had been an addition to their party. The fourth 
member of the group was a smooth-faced, rosy- 
cheeked young man, short and thick-set in figure and 
with an expression of extreme good nature upon his 
round face. Will had been introduced to him, but 
had failed to understand what his name was. As the 
two fell in behind Foster and Wilkins, Will turned 
to his companion and said pleasantly: 

“ I didn’t understand what your name was.” 

“ Brown,” responded his companion. 

“Yes. I’ve heard that name before,” laughed 
Will. “ I think there were twenty-one fellows in col- 
lege last year named Brown.” 

“ Then one more won’t count,” laughed the 
stranger. 

“ Oh, it’ll count all right,” said Will lightly. “ That 
is,” he added magnanimously, “ it will if you make it 
count. Everything depends, in college life, you know, 
on what you make yourself worth to the college.” 
The full sense of his own position and dignity as a 
junior in Winthrop was upon Will Phelps, but he was 
minded to be helpful to the newcomers, and the 
unconscious condescension in his manner and tone 
toward his companion was marked, though he him- 
self was not aware of it. 

“ So I have heard,” replied his new friend dryly. 

“ Ever been here before ? ” 

“Never.” 

“ You’ll soon get used to it and you’ll like it as well 


A NEW ACQUAINTANCE 


29 


as we do. I have been here two years now and I 
know what Fm talking about. You may have a bit 
of trouble with Splinter, but you don’t need to mind 
it much. I had trouble with him when I was a fresh- 
man, but I’ve lived through it.” And Will laughed 
lightly as he spoke. 

“ Who is Splinter ? ” inquired his friend quietly. 

“ I thought everybody knew Splinter. He has the 
freshmen in Greek. But don’t you worry about him. 
You’ll get along all right.” There was a quizzical 
expression in his companion’s face that was slightly 
disconcerting, but ignoring it, Will continued, “ Of 
course, the life here will be all new to you, and there’s 
nothing like having a friend at court. You come to 
me when you’re in trouble and I’ll help you out.” 

“ Thank you.” 

“ Where did you prepare for college ? ” 

“ At St. Peter’s.” 

“ Good school,” remarked Will sagely. “ Some of 
our best men came from St. Peter’s. I’ll introduce 
you to some of them later if you want me to.” 

“ Thank you.” 

"I’ll have to leave you here,” continued Will as 
they arrived at the street that led to his fraternity 
house, where he was to room for the coming year. 
“ I’ll see you again soon. Let me know if I can help 
you in any way. Good-bye.” After shaking hands with 
his new friend cordially, Will soon rejoined Wilkins 
and Foster, who had gone on toward the house they 
were seeking. 


30 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“Know who that was, Will?” inquired Wilkins, 
a grin spreading over his face. 

“He said his name was Brown. He ? s a mighty 
nice fellow and Fm going to look him up soon.” 

“ Do so ! Do so by all means ! He’s Doctor Brown, 
the new assistant professor of history, and I am sure 
he will appreciate your interest in him.” 


CHAPTER III 


AN INFORMAL CALL 

F OR a moment Will Phelps stared blankly at his 
two companions, ignoring the laugh in which 
both were heartily indulging, and then gazed 
ruefully at the youthful form of the new professor, 
who could still be seen in the distance. 

“ I never would have believed it,” he murmured at 
last. “ Did vou say, Willie, that he was to have his- 
tory?” 

“ Yea, verily.” 

“ And I had elected history,” said Will dolefully, 
a smile appearing for a moment on his woebegone 
countenance. “I don't believe I'm as much interested 
in that department as I thought I was. I've a notion 
to take Greek instead, for Splinter won't be as hard 
with me as this Doctor Brown now.” 

“ Nonsense, Will ! You'll come out all right. It 
was a perfectly natural mistake,” said Foster. 

“ That's so,” joined in Wilkins. “I know him, 
and I haven't any doubt he's laughing over the mat- 
ter now as much as we are.” 

“ Much as you are, you mean. It isn't any laugh- 
ing matter to me, I can tell you,” remarked Phelps in 
such a doleful manner that his two friends broke forth 
in renewed laughter. “ What'll he think of me, any- 

31 


32 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


way ? There I was, asking him at what school he had 
prepared for college and offering to steer him clear of 
the pitfalls of freshman year at Winthrop ! ” 

“ Never mind, old man. He won’t lay it up against 
you. He laughs about it himself, and he has told me 
how, every year since his graduation from college, 
when he went back, somebody always took him for a 
freshman. He’s used to it and he won’t think a bit 
the less of you for it. Don’t lay it to heart. You’ll 
come out all right.” 

“ He does look young, anyway,” suggested Will. 

“ An infant in arms,” assented Wilkins; “that is, 
till you reach his caput, and then you think he’s a 
man and a half. And he’s as good a fellow as he is 
brainy too,” added the alumnus cheerfully. 

“ Well, all I can say is that I’ve learned something, 
that’s all,” asserted Will. “ The next time I’ll wait 
before I begin to scatter my offers of help so freely.” 

“We live to learn,” remarked Wilkins. “But I 
think I’d be willing to give up my last dollar to be 
present the first time you go into his classes.” And 
Wilkins’ hearty laugh was joined in by Foster, and 
even Will Phelps himself was compelled to share in a 
measure in the mirth of his comrades. 

However, he did not speak, and soon all three had 
arrived at their destination. It was vastly different 
now, returning to college and finding their rooms in 
readiness for them, from what it had been when they 
had first entered college two years before this time. 
Others of their classmates were in the house to wel- 


AN INFORMAL CALL 


33 


come them, and in the joy of the noisy reunion Will 
obtained a slight relief from the depression that had 
followed his interview with the new professor. 

When the boys had eaten their dinner, Will Phelps 
did not join the noisy group that had assembled about 
the piano and were joining in the college songs that 
threatened to awake the echoes among the “purple 
hills.” He had formed a sudden resolution, and with- 
out saying a word even to Foster he quietly took his 
hat and slipped out of the house. 

Swiftly he walked along the tree-bordered streets, 
on past the colleges, from the windows of which many 
gleaming lights now could be seen, until at last he 
arrived in front of the house in which Wilkins had 
told him Doctor Brown was to live. Fearful that his 
resolution might fail him, he ran swiftly up the steps 
of the piazza and gave a vicious pull upon the door- 
bell, thus preventing all possibility of a retreat. 

He could hear the footsteps of the maid coming in 
response to his summons, and for an instant there was 
a thought of flight in Will’s heart, but summoning all 
his powers of resolution to his aid, he waited to be 
admitted. It seemed to him that the maid was almost 
intentionalty adding to his torture she was so slow in 
her movements. The lock creaked loudly, the door 
slowly opened, and Will saw before him a woman 
middle-aged and apparently not pleased to behold the 
visitor. 

“ Is Mr. Splint — is Doctor Brown in?” inquired 
Will in some confusion. 

c 


34 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ There ain’t no doctor lives here/’ replied the 
woman stolidly. 

“ Why, I thought Doctor Brown, one of the new 
professors in the college, boarded here,” said Will 
quickly. “ I was told that he did.” 

“ There’s a new boarder,” assented the woman, 
who had not as yet bidden Will enter. “ I guess he 
ain’t no doctor, though. He’s just a student.” 

“ What is his name ? ” 

“ I dunno.” 

“ He may be the man I’m looking for,” urged Will. 
“Will you please inquire?” 

“ What d’ye say his name was ? ” inquired the 
woman grudgingly. 

“ Brown — Doctor Brown.” 

“ I’ll see. You stay where you be,” suggested the 
woman suspiciously. It was evident that her confi- 
dence in the student body at Winthrop and the refin- 
ing effects of study were not without their limits. 
However, she did not close the door, and Will waited 
patiently until he heard her returning through the 
hall. 

“ Yes,” she said in response to Will’s question, “ he 
boards here.” 

“Is he in?” 

“Ho. He’s out” 

“ Thank you. I’ll call again.” 

“You’re welcome,” responded the woman as she 
hastily closed the door. 

Will turned away from the piazza and started 


AN INFORMAL CALL 


35 


toward the gate, but before he arrived at it he per- 
ceived some one entering, and almost instinctively he 
was convinced that he knew who it was. An impulse 
to escape was quickly mastered, and excitedly he 
stopped and waited for the man to come nearer. One 
glance, even in the dim light of the evening, was suf- 
ficient to convince him that the man he had been seek- 
ing was now before him. 

“Good evening, Doctor Brown,” called Will. 

“Good evening,” responded the professor pleas- 
antly, but plainly unaware who it was that had 
addressed him. “ Ah, Phelps, Fm glad to see you. 
Will you come in ? ” he added as soon as he recognized 
the junior. 

“ I think I will, doctor,” responded Will. “ I 
came down on purpose to see you.” 

“ That was good of you.” 

Will laughed lightly, but made no other response 
as he followed the professor into the house. Doctor 
Brown had taken a key from his pocket and unlocked 
the door, and when both had entered he once more 
closed the door and then bade Will follow him as he 
went up the stairs to his own room. The room itself 
was in confusion, books, boxes, pictures and clothing 
being scattered about in manifest disorder. The pro- 
fessor, however, offered no apology, but as soon as he 
had removed a promiscuous pile of books from one 
of the chairs invited his visitor to be seated, mean- 
while taking his own seat on a small table. It was 
so unconventional, the entire affair, so like what 


36 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


might have occurred had Doctor Brown been one of 
the students, as Will had taken him to be, that the 
junior quickly felt more at ease, and there was no 
evidence of embarrassment in his voice as he said : 

“ Fve come down, doctor, to apologize for my mis- 
take this afternoon .” 

“ What mistake ? ” inquired the professor quietly. 

“ Why — you see — I know,” stammered Will, 
thrown into confusion again, “ I thought you were 
one of us. I didn’t quite catch your name when I 
was introduced to you this afternoon, and I’m afraid 
I acted a good deal like — like — a — a — fool ! ” he at 
last blurted out. 

Doctor Brown’s face had a quizzical expression upon 
it, as Will could see by the lamplight, but there was a 
tremor in his voice as he said, “ Perhaps it would be 
better, Mr. Phelps, if you were a little more definite.” 

“ Why, the truth is, I didn’t know that you were one 
of the faculty. I thought you were one of — the ” 

“ Freshmen ? ” suggested the professor. 

“Why — I don’t know — not that exactly — I fancy 
I did ” 

The hearty laugh of the young teacher rang out as 
he said, “ The mistake was a natural one, Phelps. 
You are not the first one to make it, either. Some 
people are said to be eager to appear younger than 
they are, but for myself I think it would be an advan- 
tage to appear at least as old as I really am. Put it 
right out of your mind and don’t let it trouble you 
in the least ! 1 understood the situation, and I con- 


AN INFORMAL CALL 


37 


fess I was looking forward with interest to the time 
when you should first see me in the classroom. You 
have spoiled that for me,” laughed the young man. 
“ But you are going to elect history, are you not ? ” 
he added. 

“Yes, sir! ” responded Will emphatically. “I 
was going to, but I would now, whether I had planned 
to or not. You must have thought me a cad to talk 
to you as I did,” he added ruefully. 

“ Not at all. All that you said was just in the line 
of what I expected of you.” 

“ ‘ Expected of me’? ” 

“ Yes. You’re not such a stranger to me as you 
may have thought you were.” 

“ I don’t think I ever met you before,” said Will 
blankly. 

“ You hadn’t.” 

“ I don’t see then ” 

The young professor laughed, evidently enjoying 
the junior’s confusion; but his laughter was so con- 
tagious that Will himself was compelled to join, 
though he had no understanding as to its cause. 

“ Marc Whitney was a classmate of mine,” said 
Doctor Brown. 

“ Is that so ? ” exclaimed Will. “ He’s one of the 
best men I ever knew.” Will’s enthusiasm over the 
young principal of the high school in which he had 
prepared for college was so strong that any reference 
to him was certain to bring forth a most cordial 
response. 


38 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ Yes, we were together three weeks this summer. 
He had much to tell me about you.” 

“ I trust he didn’t tell you all he knew about me/’ 
laughed Will a trifle uneasily. 

“ He certainly had good things to say. If you 
never fall into the hands of any one who has a lower 
estimate of you, you may count yourself fortunate.” 

“ Thank you. I don’t think I ever felt toward any 
one as I did toward him,” responded Will softly; 
“ that is, any one except my father,” he added. 

Again the young professor laughed pleasantly and 
said, “ Marc — I mean Mr. Whitney,” he hastily cor- 
rected himself — “ told me about a good many things 
that happened in your school career, but that little 
story about ‘ Brother Marc’ or ‘Mar(c)k the Good 
Man,’ I’ve forgotten just which he called it, 
impressed me most of all.” 

“Yes, I remember it perfectly,” 1 responded Will 
eagerly. “ I haven’t done anything very startling in 
college, but what little I have done I know I owe to 
him — and my father. He’s one of the best friends I 
ever had.” 

“ Perhaps you can make two,” said the young pro- 
fessor. “ We’ll hope so, anyway, Phelps. I want you 
to be free to run in and see me informally any time.” 

“ Do you mean it ? ” said Will eagerly. 

“ Of course I mean it,” laughed Doctor Brown. 

“ Thank you. When I come too often you must 
tell me.” 


1 See “The Winner/ 


AN INFORMAL CALL 


39 


On his way back to his room Will’s enthusiasm 
manifested itself in many ways. Despite the dignity 
that became an upper-classman he whistled and sang 
(loudly if not in tune), and when he ran up the steps 
of his fraternity house he was greeted with a shout 
" to make less noise.” 

“ Did you see him ? ” inquired Wilkins. 

“ I did that ! He’s a daisy ! He has some red 
blood in his veins. Not much like Splinter.” 

" What do you mean ? Who is it that you are talk- 
ing about ? ” demanded Wilkins. 

" You know as well as I do.” 

" Well, I’m referring to Bonne tt.” 

" Has he been here ? ” demanded Will quickly. 
Bonnett was one of his classmates and one of the 
shrewdest political manipulators in the entire student 
body. A visit from him therefore implied, at this 
time in the term, a matter of more than ordinary 
importance. "Did he say what he wanted?” he 
inquired after a brief pause. 

" I thought you said you saw him.” 

" I didn’t mean Bonnett. I was thinking of some 
one else.” 

" Well, there is some one else here to see you too.” 

"Who is it?” 

" I don’t know. He’s waiting in the reception 
room. He looks like another freshman, but I advise 
you to be careful. One can never tell, you know,” 
laughed Wilkins. 

Will Phelps turned about and hastily made his way 


40 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


to the room where he had been informed some one was 
awaiting him. When he entered he beheld a boy 
apparently about sixteen years of age. He was well 
dressed and there were evidences about him that 
betokened a certain air of refinement, and when he 
rose from the chair in which he had been seated the 
face he turned toward Will seemed somehow strangely 
familiar. 

"Were you waiting to see me?” inquired Will 
pleasantly as he advanced with his hand extended. 

“ Is this Mr. Phelps ? ” 

“ People sometimes call me by that name.” 

“ Then here is something for you,” and as the lad 
spoke he drew from his pocket a letter which he at 
once handed to Will. Hastily tearing it open, Will 
glanced at the contents, and before he read the letter 
through he turned again in surprise to his visitor. 


CHAPTER IV 


A PROPOSITION 

‘ ‘ m HEH you are young Mott, are you ? ” inquired 
JL Will cordially. 

“ Yes, sir.” 

“ Keep your seat, Mott,” said Will lightly, for his 
visitor had risen and remained standing, evidently 
somewhat impressed by the fact that he was address- 
ing an upper-classman. “ Pm glad to see you. Hold 
on a minute. Fve a letter here I want to read. It 
may concern you.” 

The letter which Wilkins had given him on the 
train had remained in Will's coat pocket forgotten 
until this moment. Drawing it forth, he hastily tore 
open the envelope and read the following letter : 

Hew York, Sept. 15, 19 — . 

My Dear Phelps: 

I want to commend to your care my kid brother, 
who enters college this fall. He is a good boy, at least 
as far as I know,- and you may think it strange in 
view of my own record at Winthrop that I want to 
keep him so. I know Pve been no example for him 
to follow, but I never pretended to be. I can be like 
a sign-board, can't I, and point out the right way 
even if I don't walk in it myself ? The kid hasn't had 
much of a show at home. His father — well, I won't 
go into details in the matter of the family history, 

41 


42 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


and if I recollect aright I think I gave you in my own 
student ( ?) days a little picture of what goes on in my 
ancestral abode. But 1 don’t want the kid to go 
wrong. And he will, as sure as fate,, if some one 
doesn’t keep an eye on him. It’s in his blood. Now, 
honestly, Phelps, there isn’t a fellow I know that I 
would rather have the boy with than with you. I 
don’t want you to burden yourself with him, but if 
you can and will take a little interest in the forlorn 
little chap, you’ll be doing as much good as if you 
had gone out to preach to the little heathen in Tim- 
buctoo. Will you do it? I don’t ask it for myself, 
but for the kid. You needn’t take the time or trouble 
to answer this begging letter, but if you will only take 
a little oversight of Alfred he’ll be almost as grateful 
as I shall be, which is saying about all that it is in my 
power to say. 

Good-bye, old fellow. Take a good lesson from the 
error of my ways. As ever, 

Mott. 

Will Phelps read the letter through twice before he 
looked up at the freshman before him. It was asking 
much of him to accede to Mott’s request, but the 
pathetic figure of the lad appealed strongly to him, 
and there was no mistaking the cordiality in his 
tones when he said : 

“ How long have you been here, Mott ? ” 

“ A week, Mr. Phelps.” 

“ Taking your entrance exams. ? ” 

“ Yes, sir.” 

“ I trust you passed them all,” laughed Will. 

“ I passed all but one, Mr. Phelps.” 

“What was that?” 


A PROPOSITION 


43 


“ Greek history.” 

“ What was the trouble with that ? ” inquired Will. 

“ The trouble wasn’t with the examination, but 
with me, I guess,” replied young Mott ruefully. 
“ Still, I don’t think I ought to have been condi- 
tioned.” 

“ That’s what they all say.” 

“ But, honestly, Mr. Phelps,” said Mott eagerly, 
“ let me tell you. One of the questions, though it 
wasn’t exactly in the form of a question either, was, 
‘ State what you know about Themistocles.’ ” 

“ Did you do it ? ” 

“ Yes, sir, I did. I told all I knew, and it didn’t 
take but two lines to do it either. But I answered the 
question, anyway. I stated * all I knew ’ about The- 
mistocles. That answered the question, didn’t it ? Of 
course, I didn’t know very much, but how much I 
knew wasn’t the question I was asked. I answered the 
question, anyway, and 1 don’t think I ought to be 
conditioned, for I did what was asked of me, didn’t 
I, Mr. Phelps?” 

“ You’ll do. You’ll get along in Winthrop all 
right. I have a letter here from your brother asking 
me to do what I could for you. I don’t think you’ll 
need much help from me, though. You’ll be able to 
look out for yourself.” 

“ Thank you, Mr. Phelps. But I don’t think so. 
I hope you’ll do what my brother says in his letter.” 

“ Of course I will ! Come and see me whenever 
you’re in trouble — or when you’re not,” Will added 


44 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


with a laugh. There was something attractive about 
the boy that appealed strongly to him, though the let- 
ter of his elder brother of itself would not have moved 
him, he felt so strongly against the man who had been 
expelled from college at the end of his sophomore year. 

“ Thank you, Mr. Phelps. But, Mr. Phelps ” 

“Look here, freshman,” laughed Will, “you 
needn’t put the title on me yet awhile. We don’t 
‘ mister ’ anybody in Winthrop, not even the faculty. 
I’m just plain Phelps, you understand.” 

“ Well, plain Phelps ” began Mott demurely. 

“ That’ll do. I’ll make you go back to the ‘ mister ’ 
if you try that game,” interrupted Will. “ Where do 
you room, freshman?” 

“ In North Hall.” 

“ Why did you go in there ? ” inquired Will quickly, 
and in a moment he regretted having asked the ques- 
tion. North Hall was an old dormitory and decidedly 
out of repair. The rooms too were undesirable, and 
the students who roomed there as a rule were those 
who came from homes where the struggles to provide 
means for the pursuit of learning in Winthrop were 
of the hardest. As he thought of Mott, with his 
abundance of money and lavish ways, he was puzzled 
to account for his younger brother having taken up 
his abode in North instead of the more luxurious 
quarters occupied by his elder. 

“ My brother wanted me to. He thought I’d be 
more likely to study there. He said most of the stu- 
dents that roomed there came to college to work.” 


A PROPOSITION 


45 


“ They do,” assented Will cordially, believing that 
he understood the motive now and heartily approving 
it — at least approving the place for others than him- 
self. 

“ But, Mr. Phelps ” persisted Mott. 

“ Plain Phelps,” laughed Will. 

“ Do you really think I ought to have been condi- 
tioned in my Greek history ? ” 

“ That was one of Splinter’s questions. He never 
hits anything directly — except freshmen.” 

Splinter’? Who is he?” 

“ That’s the pet name for the professor of Greek. 
You’ll understand when you see him.” 

“ Is he hard ? ” 

“ As nails.” 

“ I’ll have to take my chances then, I suppose.” 

“ Don’t take any chances. Put in your best work. 
Work is the only thing that counts with Splinter, and 
sometimes that doesn’t seem to count as it ought to.” 
Will began with a feeling of righteousness as he 
recalled his own experiences with the man, but the 
feeling vanished before the sentence was completed. 
“ Let me know when. I can help you, and come and 
see me again.” 

The hint was sufficient to cause the freshman to 
arise, and as he departed he assured Will in such a 
positive manner that his invitations would be accepted 
that the junior’s heart almost misgave him. Perhaps 
the position of adviser would prove to be more diffi- 
cult than at first he had thought. He accompanied 


46 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


his visitor to the door, and as he bade him good night 
he perceived some one coming up the piazza steps 
whom he quickly recognized as Bonnett, the class- 
mate who had called to see him during his absence in 
the earlier part of the evening. 

“ Hello, Bonnett,” he called cheerily. “ Fm 
mighty glad to see you. When did you come back ? ” 

“Day before yesterday,” replied Bonnett as he 
grasped his classmate’s hand. 

“ You were here before, this evening, to see me, I 
hear.” 

“ Yes. And I want to see you too.” 

“Well, here I am,” laughed Will. “Not very 
much to see, but what there is you’re welcome to. 
Come in ! ” 

“No, I don’t want to come in. Get your hat, 
Phelps, and come with me. I want to say something 
to you which I don’t want all Winthrop to hear. We’ll 
take a walk up the street.” 

“ All right. Be with you in a minute,” responded 
Will as he darted into the house. 

He soon returned and accompanied his classmate 
as they turned into one of the more quiet and unfre- 
quented streets of the village. They conversed about 
many topics — the size of the incoming class, the pros- 
pects of the football team, the regret over the decision 
not to return to college of some of their warmest 
friends; but all the time Will Phelps was aware that 
the supreme purpose for which Bonnett had invited 
him to walk had not been touched upon. Aware as he 


A PROPOSITION 


47 


was of his classmate’s skill in manipulating college 
affairs and of his influence in the class, his feeling of 
curiosity naturally became stronger during the delay ; 
but he wisely held his peace, waiting for his com- 
panion to broach the subject, whatever it might be. 
For Will was in complete ignorance as to what was 
in Bonnett’s mind, though he was positive that some- 
thing definite and clearly defined was there, and in a 
measure he was flattered by the evident interest and 
attentions of his classmate. 

“ I say, Phelps,” inquired Bonnett casually at last, 
“ when is it we hold our meeting for the election of 
class officers ? ” 

Will laughed quietly, assured that his companion 
was now approaching the true purpose of the inter- 
view. “ That’s a good one, Bonnett. If there’s a 
man in college that knows, you’re the fellow.” 

Bonnett laughed in turn as he said, “ You flatter 
me. The meeting is next Saturday, isn’t it ? ” 

“ According to custom it is.” 

“ Who’s your man for class president ? ” Bonnett 
spoke quietly and much as if the matter was one in 
which he had no personal or special interest. 

“ Now out with it, Bonnett ! ” said Will good- 
naturedly and stopping abruptly in his walk. 
“ You’ve got something up your sleeve. What is it ? ” 

Bonnett coughed and laughed lightly, and then 
said, “ That’s always your way, Phelps. You’d shave 
a man with a broad-axe instead of a razor if you had 
your way.” 


48 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ Fm flattered some more. No, I don’t know that 
I’d shave a man with an axe, but I wouldn’t call it a 
razor if I did. If you have anything to say, I believe 
in coming right out and saying it and be done 
with it.” 

“ Phelps, will yon accept the nomination for class 
president ? ” 

“ Do you mean me?” exclaimed Will. “ It hadn’t 
entered my head.” 

“Very likely. If it had, I might not be talking 
with you now. It’s in the heads of a good many fel- 
lows in the class though.” 

“ Now look here, Bonnett. You’ve got this thing 
all thought out and you know exactly how the land 
lies. Give it to me straight, old man ! As I told you, 
I’m not much good at beating the bush.” 

“ Ahem ! ” coughed Bonnett. “ Well, I don’t mind 
telling you that the North Hall and West Hall crowds 
are pretty well united upon you.” 

Will was aware that the students who roomed in 
these two buildings, although they did not as a rule 
belong to any of the college fraternities, still ‘ pulled 
together,’ as he expressed it, in class elections, and 
usually against any candidate that chanced to come 
from any of the Greek letter societies. It was with 
this thought in his mind and his suspicions aroused 
that he was silent for a moment. 

“ Go on with your story, Bonnett,” he said at last. 

“ Want more than that? That’s thirty per cent, of 
the class for you already.” 


A PROPOSITION 


49 


“ Go on.” 

“ Well, there are three of the fraternities that will 
be for you too. That will make it up to forty per cent, 
of the class.” 

“ Which fraternities ? ” 

“ The Betas, the Taus, and the Gammas.” 

“ How about the others ? ” 

“ They can’t be counted upon, I’m afraid. But if 
you stand, your own men will of course support you, 
and that will bring it up almost to the point of carry- 
ing it. We can count upon enough stragglers to put 
the thing through, when we come as near as we shall. 
And we’ll have Foster and Knapp make the speeches 
for you, and they’re about the best speakers we have, 
you know. I honestly believe the thing is done if you 
will say the word.” 

Will was silent and thoughtful for a time. He 
appreciated fully what the honor would mean. How 
pleased his father would be too ! To be president of 
the class in his junior year was an honor not to be 
despised or lightly turned aside. 

“ Bonnett,” he said at last, “ let’s have the whole 
thing. What’s to follow this? Suppose your scheme 
works and I’m elected, what then ? ” 

“ You’d be class president,” laughed Bonnett. 

“ Yes, but what would be expected of me ? I know 
you well enough to know that you haven’t worked up 
this scheme just to let it stand. There’s something 
beyond it. Something more to follow. Now let’s 
have it straight, as I told you.” 

D 


CHAPTER Y 

PROVERBIAL WISDOM 

“ TTOTJ have the facts. I don’t see what more yon 

X want/’ said Bonnett quietly. 

“ I want the facts which I haven’t got,” 
said Will laughingly. “ What I want to know is, what 
is to follow all this ? ” 

“ I don’t know that there is anything special. Of 
course, we should ” 

“ Should what?” demanded Will as his companion 
hesitated. 

“ Nothing. Nothing at all.” 

“ Yes, there is something. And I must have it.” 

“ Why, the only thing that would be expected would 
be that when the election comes next year you’d stand 
by the friends who have stood by you this year. It 
isn’t worth mentioning though. Everybody that 
knows you knows that’s exactly what you would do.” 

“ Bonnett, who is it you want to have run for class 
president in senior year ? I see that he is the colored 
gentleman in the woodpile.” 

“You see too much, Phelps,” laughed Bonnett a 
trifle uneasily as Will thought. “ You see more than 
is there.” 

“ Who’s the fellow? ” demanded Will. 

“ Why, I don’t know that there is any one in partic- 
50 * 


PROVERBIAL WISDOM 


51 


ular. I’ve heard Clark’s name mentioned. I don’t 
know that there’s anything in it though.” 

“ Clark who rooms in North Hall ? ” 

“ Yes.” 

Will was silent for a moment as he walked slowly on 
by his classmate’s side. He knew Clark, of course, 
for he was a member of his own class; but he had 
never felt especially drawn to him. He was a huge, 
ungainly fellow, a hard student but not a clear or bril- 
liant one, a man without many winning qualities in 
his personality, a matter-of-fact, conceited, wordy 
man, whose voice was always heard loud and frequent 
at every class meeting. That he was ambitious Will 
well knew, but as a man to receive the highest office 
within the gift of the class — that of president in 
senior year — that was something at which his soul 
revolted. And he was convinced that he now saw 
through the workings of the plan in Bonnett’s mind. 
He had consolidated the vote of the North Hall and 
West Hall crowds by promising them the support of 
all who entered into the combination for the election 
of the officers in the junior year. He was unable to 
perceive all that Bonnett was planning to do, but as 
far as his own position was concerned he was con- 
vinced that now he saw clearly what the end to be 
sought was. 

It certainly was a temptation too. The office which 
was promised him — and as Will thought the matter 
over carefully he felt convinced without any undue 
conceit that the project would succeed — was one that 


52 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


appealed to him strongly. It was a place of honor, 
and he understood fully how pleased his father would 
be at this token of the confidence and friendship of his 
classmates. And in a way it was all fair and legiti- 
mate. 

“ I’ll think it over, Bonnett,” he said quietly. 

“ Isn’t much time for that.” And Bonnett laughed 
uneasily. 

“ I can tell you to-morrow — perhaps to-morrow 
morning.” 

“ Better settle it now, Phelps. It’s a good thing 
and on the square. But there’ll be a lot of work to be 
done, and the sooner we get at it the better the scheme 
will work.” 

“ You couldn’t expect me to work for it,” said Will 
quickly. 

“ Hot at all. Hot at all,” said Bonnett, soothingly. 
“ We knew you couldn’t do anything of the kind. Of 
course, you’d tell your own fraternity men so that 
they might ” 

“ Go to work for me?” interrupted Will. 

“ Hot necessarily. Of course, it would be perfectly 
square if they did, and no one would think of saying 
a word against it. But we shouldn’t ask it. All we’d 
really want would be for them to know of the plan so 
that they would be on hand with their votes.” 

Will laughed slightly as he listened, for he well 
knew that Bonnett would expect his friends to “ take 
off their coats” for him, though in his words there 
was only a mere hint at the suggestion. 


PROVEKBIAL WISDOM 


53 


“ Where do you come in, in all this, Bonnett ? ” he 
inquired. 

“ I don’t come in at all. I don’t expect and don’t 
want any office.” 

“ You’d rather sit back and pull the strings that 
make the officers jump ? ” 

“ I don’t think they’d find me a very hard ‘ boss.’ ” 

“ Bonnett, I’ll give you my decision to-morrow 
morning after chapel.” 

“ I’d like to do some work to-night,” suggested 
Bonnett. 

“ I’ve got to think this over. I can’t tell you now.” 

“ All right,” responded the junior cheerfully. He 
was too shrewd a politician not to yield gracefully to 
the inevitable. “ We’ll go back now.” 

Not a word was spoken concerning the election of 
the class officers during their walk back to the frater- 
nity house, and when they arrived at the entrance 
Bonnett, declining Will’s invitation to come in, went 
off whistling as gayly as if he never had thought of 
projects or combinations. 

Will Phelps thoughtfully entered the house and in 
the library discovered Foster and “ Willie ” chatting. 
Both glanced up at his entrance, and Foster said, 
“ Where have you been, Will ? I missed you.” 

“ I’ve been taking a walk with Bonnett,” replied 
Will with a laugh. 

“ Which means that some scheme is on foot,” 
replied Foster quietly. 

“ Yes, that’s just it. You fellows tell me what you 


54 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


think of it.” And Will at once related the interview 
he had had with his classmate and told of the propo- 
sition which had been placed before him. “ What do 
you say ? ” he inquired when he had told all. 

Neither of his friends spoke for a minute, and then 
Foster said, “ I don’t see why you shouldn’t do it. 
You’re one of the leaders, and there isn’t a more popu- 
lar fellow in the class. I’d like to have you take it.” 

“ That’s the kind of a friend for you ! ” laughed 
Will, who despite the lightness of his words was 
deeply touched by Foster’s feeling and interest. It 
was nothing new in his experience, however, for the 
love of his room-mate was so well known to him that 
he often took it as he received the sunlight, with 
hardly a thought of its meaning. And in his own 
heart he knew too that Foster was the one fellow to 
whom his heart went out as to no other one. The 
years had only strengthened the feeling, and he had 
really expected that Foster would say what he had 
just said. 

“What do you say, Willie?” he inquired, turning 
to the graduate. “Your deep learning and wide 
experience, to say nothing of your ( nerve,’ qualify 
you to give us some sage advice.” 

“I’m not saying much,” replied Wilkins quietly. 
“ I’m listening.” 

“ ‘ Strike while the iron’s hot,’ ” said Foster eagerly. 
“ Here’s the chance. Now take it.” 

“ I’m not very much for proverbs,” remarked Wil- 
kins. 


PROVERBIAL WISDOM 


55 


“ There’s nothing the matter with that one, is 
there ? ” 

“ Yes. Some iron ought not to be struck at all, no 
matter whether it’s hot or cold.” 

"Well, then, ‘Every dog has his day.’ This is 
Will’s day and he would be a fool not to take it” 

“ ‘ Every dog has his day ’ ; I guess that’s so,” mur- 
mured Wilkins, "but I’ve seen some dogs that 
seemed to be in evidence every day. This fellow Bon- 
nett for example. Isn’t he in evidence most of the 
time?” 

"His hand may be, but he keeps himself in the 
shade,” laughed Will. 

" A bit shady himself, perhaps.” 

" Quit that ! ” said Foster sharply. " You ought to 
be ashamed of yourself. And you an old, bald-headed 
alumnus too.” 

" I won’t do it again,” replied Wilkins meekly. 
" But I do want to impress upon your youthful minds 
the absolute foolness of a good many of the prov- 
erbs you hear. And sometimes they are given off by 
men that ought to know better.” 

" My father told me when I came up to Win- 
throp,” ventured Will, who was ever ready to quote 
his father, " when he was trying to make me look out 
for my expenses, that ‘ a penny saved was a penny 
earned.’ There’s nothing the matter with preaching 
that, is there ? I confess I have not practised it,” he 
added somewhat ruefully. 

" I have great respect for your pater,” said Wilkins 


56 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


soberly ; “ but with all due regard for his sage remark 
I don’t believe he’s right.” 

“ Why not?” 

“ Suppose I have a dollar in my pocket ” 

“ I can’t suppose any such thing. It’s too big a 
strain on the imagination/’ interrupted Will 
demurely. 

“All right. We’ll suppose you have a dollar in 
your pocket. Oh, I’m only supposing,” added Wil- 
kins as Will hastily arose and in much eagerness 
began to search his own pockets. “ Yours will do as 
well as any one’s. It’s all a make-believe anyway. Now 
suppose you are tempted to spend five cents on twenty 
separate and different occasions, and, for the sake of 
the argument, we’ll suppose you yield not to tempta- 
tion on the twenty aforesaid occasions. How much 
money will you have in your pocket after all the 
struggles ? ” 

“It would depend. But I’ll say I still have the 
dollar.” 

“ Any more ? Any less ? ” 

“ I suppose not.” 

“Then the proverb is false, isn’t it? You have 
‘ saved/ according to the proverb, five cents every 
time you resisted. And yet your original dollar is still 
all you have.” 

“ Yes, but T wouldn’t have had that if I’d spent it.” 

“ That’s begging the question.” 

“But money isn’t good for anything except to 
use,” insisted Will. 


PROVERBIAL WISDOM 


57 


“ That’s begging the question too. I’m not saying 
I don’t approve of the spirit of thrift — in some one 
else. It’s a great thing and should be diligently culti- 
vated by the youthful. But suppose I do save up all 
my money, what then?” 

“ Why, you have it.” 

“ Not a bit of it. Along comes a chap with a 
‘ scheme ’ and he fastens on to my hoard with all his 
hands and both feet. And he never comes back. 
I’ve been saving my pennies for him to swagger on, 
and I see them vanish as that fellow in Virgil saw his 
father go out of his sight into hot air.” 

“ Thin air, you mean, Willie,” laughed Foster. 

“ Well, thin air, hot air, smoke — all one and the 
same thing. I’m a bit rusty on my classics, I’ll 
admit. But it’s vanished, anyway, and that was what 
I was trying to explain for your benefit. Put not 
your trust in riches,” continued Wilkins solemnly. 

“ No, put your riches in the trusts, is the way I read 
it the other day,” broke in Will. “ Or as the distin- 
guished wash-lady who has the sublime honor of look- 
ing after my laundering remarked soberly to me the 
other day, ‘ Them as has, gets.’ ” 

“Wise woman. She knows more than Splinter. 
‘ A little learning is a dangerous thing.’ ” 

“ There you go. You can’t open your mouth your- 
self without letting a proverb roll out, and you know 
it,” retorted Foster. 

“ Can’t I ? Well, even if I did, the proverb’s 
wrong. Too much learning is as bad as too little. 


58 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


When I was a boy, many, many years ago, we lived in 
peace. We weren’t afraid of microbes, disease germs, 
bacilli, et csetera, and much besides. How is it now ? 
Why, we use sterilized slates, germicides, homicides, 
patricides, and all other cides. We’ve increased our 
learning and added to our sorrow. But we don’t know 
how to spell,” added Wilkins in mock solemnity. 

“ My washlady mends my clothes, and I believe ‘ a 
stitch in time saves nine,’ don’t you ? ” inquired Will. 

“ Hot a bit of it. My tailor sewed up some gar- 
ments of mine not long ago, but the place he sewed 
had then become so much stronger than the other 
parts that they couldn’t stand the strain. Gone all to 
pieces ! ” Wilkins added, shaking his head, “and all 
because that fool tailor thought he’d use that proverb.” 

“’Twas your conscience,” laughed Will. “You 
were afraid. It wasn’t the tailor. ‘ Conscience doth 
make cowards of us all.’ ” 

“ Don’t you believe it, my idiotic young friend ! 
It’s the cowardly, skulking, villainous rascal who 
hasn’t any conscience at all that I’m afraid of.” 

“ You’re great, Willie ! Immense ! ” retorted Will. 
“ ‘ Lives of great men all remind us,’ ” he mur- 
mured. 

“ Another fool proverb.” 

“ That isn’t a proverb. It’s a poem. You must 
have heard it. It’s Longfellow’s ” 

“ Ever hear of T. Carlyle ? ” demanded Wilkins. 

“ Yes.” 

“ Was he a great man ? ” - 


PROVERBIAL WISDOM 


59 


“ Yes.” 

“ Ever hear how he used to ‘ pass the bacon and oat- 
meal 9 to his wife? Ever hear how he used to fire 
things across the dinner table at his spouse? Ever 
hear him growl and snarl and whine? Oh, yes. He 
was a great man. He wrote some sublime words. But 
pray excuse me ! I don’t want to make my life sub- 
lime.” 

“ You can’t help it, Willie. You’re born that way.” 

“ What’s all that got to do with Will being class 
president, I’d like to know ? ” said Foster impatiently. 

“ Ah, yes. We’ll discuss that matter at once.” And 
Wilkins quickly sat erect in his chair. 


CHAPTER VI 

A DISAPPEARANCE AT THE PRESIDENTS HOUSE 

W HAT do you say, Willie?” inquired Will 
Phelps quickly. 

' “ I say drop it,” replied Wilkins without 

raising his voice. 

“ You don’t mean what you say, Willie ! ” spoke up 
Foster excitedly. “ This is Will’s chance ! ” 

“ It won’t be his only one. My opinion is that Bon- 
nett is trying to shelve him.” 

“ Shelve me ? What do you mean ? ” said Will. 

“ J ust what I say. He’s trying to put you on the 
shelf. If he can get you elected class president this 
year, he shuts you out for next year, and in my hum- 
ble judgment that’s just what he’s aiming at. He or 
one of his men will come in somewhere on the deal 
for next year. You mark my words ! ” 

“But I’m not sure of next year,” suggested Will, 
who was deeply moved by Wilkins’ words. “ ‘ A bird 
in the hand,’ you know.” 

“Ho, I don’t know. I told you my opinion of 
proverbs, anyway, and as far as ‘ a bird in the hand 
being worth two in the bush ’ is concerned, it depends 
altogether on the bird. I would not give up two live 
hens cackling in the bushes over two fresh-laid eggs 
for a dead crow. Would you ? ” 

60 


A DISAPPEARANCE 


61 


“ Ho, I wouldn’t,” laughed Will. “ But that isn’t 
the way I understand it. That isn’t what it means.” 

“ It’s what this means,” responded Wilkins posi- 
tively. “ Don’t you touch it, Will.” 

“ I may not have a chance to,” replied Will lightly. 

“ Look here, Wilkins,” suggested Foster, “ I may 
be all wrong and you may have all the concentrated 
wisdom of the world ; but I confess it doesn’t look that 
way to me. It seems to me this is Will’s chance. I’d 
like to see him president next year just as much as you 
would, but it does seem to me he’s letting something 
of an uncertainty come in to take the place of a sure 
thing. He might be elected next year, but he’s sure 
of it this year; that is, as sure as any one can be of 
something he hasn’t quite got.” 

“ If he drops this he’ll be all the more sure of that,” 
said Wilkins firmly. “ It won’t hurt him any when 
it’s reported he wouldn’t go into a ‘ deal.’ I hate 
these ‘ kid ’ deals, anyway. They ought to be ripped 
out of college.” 

“ Anybody can tell what ought to be done, but it’s 
a wise one who can tell us how to do it,” laughed Fos- 
ter. “ I guess everybody would like to see them go, 
but they’re here and they won’t go, and the best one 
can do is to do our best with things as they are. I 
don’t want to have Will waste his fragrance on a des- 
ert air like the rose that was born to blush unseen, you 
know.” 

“ How look here, you kid ! ” said Wilkins sharply, 
sitting quickly erect in the sudden excitement that 


62 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


possessed him. “ The first thing I know you'll be 
going in to tell me about the ‘mute, inglorious Mil- 
tons/ Don't you believe a word of it. I don't believe 
there ever was a genuine Milton who was mute or 
inglorious either. At least, he never showed up 
within twenty-seven thousand miles of Winthrop 
College! I know a good many fellows who thought 
they were Miltons, or whose mammas told the faculty 
they were. But you and I know better. The trouble 
with them was that they weren't Miltons, and as for 
being mute — bah ! You could hear their bray from 
one end of the land to the other. What's that got to 
do with Will Phelps, anyway? He's not posing as a 
Milton, is he? If he was, I'd smother him. I know 
how it's the proper thing for a man to say he's read 
c Paradise Lost ' and ‘ Paradise Kegained,' but tell 
me one man — yes, I mean it — one man that ever did 
it, will you? I mean one really live, common-sense 
man." 

“ I fawncy that Splinter has read them," drawled 
Will. 

“ He may, but I question it even with him, unless 
they were first translated into Greek. Now, Will," 
he added seriously, “ I've said my say and I'm done. 
I didn't offer my advice, as you know. You asked me 
for it and I gave it. You can take it or drop it, just 
as you please, for after all, you're the fellow that has 
to decide the matter." 

“ Worse luck for me." 

“No, it isn't. You've nothing to regret in the 


A DISAPPEARANCE 


63 


matter. Pm not posing, but I don't think I'll ever 
forget the words of Doctor James when he preached 
in the college chapel one Sunday two or three years 
ago." 

“ Your memory is as good as your nerve." 

“Never you mind that!" retorted Wilkins. “I 
was telling you what the doctor said, or rather I was 
about to tell you when you broke in upon me. He 
said f the good was ever the enemy of the best.' " 

“That wasn't original with him," said Foster. 
“ I've heard it before." 

“ I didn’t say it was original with him, did I ? All 
I said was that he said it. It stuck in my mind. 
Now, having given you my sage counsel, I'm going to 
bed. Good night ! " And Wilkins at once arose and 
went to his room. 

For an hour Will Phelps and his room-mate 
remained and talked over every phase of the subject. 
No decision had been made, however, when at last 
they also retired to their rooms and the silence of the 
night rested over the sleeping college town. 

On the following morning when the students filed 
out from the chapel, Will Phelps found Bonnett wait- 
ing for him near one of the great trees by the path- 
way near the entrance to the building itself. 

“ Well, Phelps ? " inquired Bonnett. 

“ I can't see my way to do it, Bonnett," responded 
Will slowly. 

“You're making a mistake — the mistake of your 
life." 


64 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ I’ve made so many of those already I ? m almost 
getting used to them.” 

“ There are plenty of fellows who would jump at 
the chance.” 

“ Let them jump,” laughed Will good-naturedly. 

“ You’ve thought it all over?” 

“ Yes.” 

“ Talked with your crowd ? ” 

“ Some of them.” 

“ And they advised you not to ? ” 

“ Some did and some didn’t. The counsels were 
so divided I was right where I was at the beginning. 
It was good of you to think of me, Bonnett,” added 
Will warmly. “But honestly I can’t see my way to 
do it.” 

“ I’m sorry and I’m afraid you’ll be sorrier,” replied 
Bonnett sharply as he turned on his heel and departed 
from the place. 

Will gazed after him a moment in silence, half 
tempted to recall his words and take back his decision. 
It was evident that Bonnett was disappointed and 
angry, and Will was aware that his classmate’s influ- 
ence in the college was not slight. A second thought, 
however, strengthened him in his decision, and he 
resolutely turned away and soon overtook Foster, with 
whom he entered the room where already many of his 
class had assembled. 

“ What did you tell him, Will ? ” inquired Foster as 
they took their seats. 

“I told him I wouldn’t do it,” responded Will, 


A DISAPPEARANCE 


65 


glancing for a moment across the room where Bonnett 
was seated. That Bonnett was pretending to ignore 
him and evidently was angry, only caused him to 
smile derisively as he took his seat. 

“ It’s all right, Will, I’m glad you told him that,” 
said Foster. 

“ You are ? Why, I thought you wanted me to say 
‘ yes.’ ” 

“I did, but I don’t now. I’ve slept over it and 
I’m wiser.” 

Will smiled and as the professor called the class to 
order he became silent and the subject was not again 
referred to by either of them before the class meeting, 
for the election of officers was to be held on the 
coming Saturday. 

On the evening of the day in which the conversa- 
tion occurred, which has been reported in this chapter, 
the president of the college, with his wife, gave a 
reception to the incoming students. Only the two 
lower classes, as classes, were invited; but both Will 
and Foster, together with several other juniors and 
seniors, had been personally invited by the president’s 
wife to be present and assist in making the entering 
class feel somewhat more at home in the midst of their 
new and unfamiliar surroundings. Already one 
“ rush ” had taken place between the two lower classes 
and Will, who thought lightly, perhaps too lightly, of 
such matters, had interestedly watched the struggle 
for the possession of the precious sweater, which at 
last had been retained successfully by the freshmen. 


66 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


He had marked young Mott as one of the most vigor- 
ous of the contestants and smiled as he perceived that 
his first estimate of him had perhaps not been alto- 
gether correct. 

On the evening of the reception Mott was one of 
the busiest of the freshmen. The demure expression 
did not depart from his face, but he was so evidently 
bent upon entering into the spirit of the occasion that 
Will watched him with increasing interest. 

“ This is a great spread, Mr. Phelps,” said Mott as 
he stopped for a moment in the midst of the throng to 
speak to Will. 

“ You seem to be enjoying yourself,” responded 
Will pleasantly. 

“ IPs great! But it isn’t half so great as — well, 
you just wait, Mr. Phelps, till it’s over and you’ll know 
what I mean.” And young Mott vanished in the 
throng before Will was able to inquire what he meant. 
The freshman’s prophecy was forgotten and an hour 
had passed when Will felt a touch upon his arm that 
caused him quickly to turn. It was the wife of the 
president who had touched his arm, and as he looked 
into her face Will perceived that she was in trouble of 
some kind. 

“ I don’t know what we shall do, Mr. Phelps,” she 
was saying. “ Our ice cream has been stolen.” Her 
lips were trembling, though Will thought he detected a 
smile lurking in the corners of her mouth. 

“ I’m very sorry. Probably some of the freshmen 
have done it. Is there anything I can do ? ” 


A DISAPPEARANCE 


67 


“ Not unless you can bring back the cream. It’s too 
late to order more.” 

“ Never mind,” said Will soothingly. “ The boys 
will all understand, and if it's known who did it, 
why ” 

“ Oh, I know or at least I suppose it was done only 
in the spirit of mischief.” 

“Spirit of nothing!” replied Will warmly. He 
had been a frequent visitor at the home of the presi- 
dent and naturally was indignant at what had 
occurred. “ Don't you trouble yourself about it ! I'll 
go out and look, but if I don't find any trace of the 
cream — and I hardly think I shall,” he added with a 
smile — “ why, I'll see that it is all explained among 
the fellows. Every one of them will understand. 
They appreciate your kind heart, I assure you.” 

“ Thank you, Mr. Phelps. I didn't know just what 
to do. I haven't told my husband. I thought I would 
tell you and you might be able to help me out before 
any one learned of my trouble.” The good woman 
smiled in spite of her perplexity and disappointment, 
and Will at once departed from the room. 

A careful search failed, however, to reveal the pres- 
ence of the missing cream, and when a half-hour had 
gone he returned and quietly spread among the 
assembly the report of the loss which had taken place. 

There was some laughter and more indignation 
when it was understood by the students, and many 
were the expressions of sympathy given their hostess. 
The matter was looked upon in the light of a foolish 


68 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


prank on the part of some silly freshmen, and when 
the assembly dispersed it had vanished from the 
thoughts of most of the visitors. 

It was not so with Will Phelps, however, for as he 
stepped forth from the president’s house the “ proph- 
ecy” of Mott, the freshman, suddenly recurred to 
him, and quickly excusing himself to Foster he started 
swiftly toward North Hall, where the freshman in 
question had his room. As he walked on, his feeling of 
indignation became stronger and when at last he 
knocked on the door of Mott’s room he was in a frame 
of mind that boded little good for his freshman pro- 
tege. 

In response to his summons he was bidden enter, 
and his surprise was manifest in the blank expression 
of his face when he beheld Mott and his room-mate 
bending over their study tables, each apparently 
intent in his task. 

“ Good evening, Mr. Phelps ! ” exclaimed Mott as 
he perceived who his visitor was, and at once placing a 
chair before Will. “Take a seat. This is good of 
3^ou. I didn’t look for a visit so soon.” 

Will took the proffered seat, keenly eying the young 
freshman as he did so, but was unable to discover 
any trace of guilt in the demure face. 

“ Shame about the cream up at the president’s 
house, wasn’t it, Mr. Phelps ? ” inquired Mott. 

“ Yes. It was worse than that ! It was an insult, 
an insult to the president and his wife and all the 
college ! If the fools who took the cream could have 


A DISAPPEARANCE 


69 


seen her face when she told me about it I think they’d 
have felt like crawling. The college won’t stand for 
any such thing as that.” 

“ I shouldn’t think it would, Mr. Phelps,” replied 
Mott soberly. “ I wouldn’t be in the shoes of the fel- 
lows that did it. Do you know who they were?” 

“ I have had my suspicions.” 

“ So have I.” 

“ Who was it ? ” 

“ I couldn’t tell you that. A fellow can’t go back 

on ” Mott stopped abruptly as there came a 

knock on his door. He glanced at his room-mate un- 
easily, but did not invite those who were outside the 
door to enter. 

Evidently the visitors were becoming impatient, for 
there was a sound as of rattling dishes and some one 
called, “ Open up, Mott, if you want your share of 
Prexy’s ice cream. There won’t be a grease spot of it 
left if you don’t get a move on you ! ” 


CHAPTER VII 

IN THE FRESHMAN'S ROOM 

W ITHOUT waiting for a response to the sum- 
mons, the door was opened from the outside, 
and Will could see three students, whom he 
took to be freshmen, standing before him, two of 
them holding plates of ice cream in their hands, 
while the third was empty-handed. 

“ Here you are, Mott ! ” called one of them. “ You 

don’t appear to be very ” began one of them. 

Suddenly he stopped as he perceived Will Phelps in 
the room, and the eager expression of his face gave 
place to one of consternation as he recognized the 
junior. 

“ Come in here ! Come right along, you freshmen ! ” 
said Will sternly, at once stepping forward and clos- 
ing the door quickly so that all were shut in the room. 

“How what have you to say for yourselves?” he 
demanded sternly. 

Ho one responded and the abashed freshmen 
glanced foolishly at one another, that is, all except 
Mott, whose expression was almost one of reproach 
as he gazed at his astounded classmates. 

“ I thought you were the ones,” resumed Will 
sternly. “ Of all the low-down tricks this as about 
the worst ! It hasn’t even the excuse of foolness ! To 
70 


IN THE FKESHMAN’S ROOM 


71 


go to work and spoil the reception and hurt the feel- 
ings, as yon did, of that good woman who was just 
doing all in her power to try to make your class feel 
a bit at home here ! You’re worse than the man that 
robs a baby of its candy ! You beat the record, you do, 
and I’ll tell you right now that you have queered your- 
selves with the whole college.” 

“ Don’t be too hard with them, Mr. Phelps ! ” 
pleaded Mott. “ I don’t think they meant to do any- 
thing very bad.” 

“ If they didn’t know, they were fools ; and if they 
did know, they were knaves, or at least they haven’t 
the first instincts of a gentleman ! ” 

Will at first had been somewhat abashed by the 
calm assurance of Mott, of whose share in the theft 
he had had no question, but the manner of the young 
freshman was puzzling and for a moment he was at a 
loss what to say, when his indignation broke forth 
in the words he had hotly hurled at the group. 

“ We didn’t mean any harm,” stammered one. 

"I know they didn’t, Mr. Phelps,” began Mott 
quickly. “ Not even when they came in here to treat 
me. They probably had heard it was the proper thing 
to do and didn’t think of anything else. Didn’t you 
do some foolish things when you were a freshman ? ” 
“ I didn’t do any such low-down tricks as this ! ” 
responded Will warmly, though the tones of his voice 
changed in spite of his anger, as for a moment his 
thoughts ran back to some of his own experiences in 
freshman year. 


72 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ Of course you didn’t/’ said Mott eagerly, “ but 
you can understand how these fellows made the mis- 
take. For it was a mistake/’ he added gravely. “ Now 
what do you want them to do, Mr. Phelps ? It’s too 
late to take the stuff back to Prexy’s house, or they 
would do that.” 

“ They can at least apologize,” said Will warmly. 

“ Of course they can ! And they will too, if you say 
the word. That wouldn’t bring back the reception, 
of course, but it might make her feel better. We don’t 
want to queer the whole class the first thing.” 

“ It’s the thing to do, though.” 

“ Yes, I suppose it is. You know best. She would 
probably tell the president and he’d have these fellows 
up before the faculty. And they’d be sent home in 
disgrace. It would make a heap of trouble in their 
homes to have all this happen right at the start, but 
they deserve it, and I say let them go it ! ” 

“ They ought to have thought of that before,” said 
Will. He was speaking quietly now, for Mott’s words 
had made him think of a certain home in Sterling 
and what would be the feeling there if he himself had 
been sent home for such a foolish, thoughtless piece 
of work as that in which some of the present freshman 
class had engaged. 

“ That’s so,” said Mott. “ Every word of it is true, 
but it’s just as true that they didn’t too. They’re only 
freshmen, Mr. Phelps, and don’t know any better. If 
they had known more, they wouldn’t be freshmen, 
don’t you see ? ” 


IN THE FRESHMAN'S ROOM 


73 


Will laughed and prepared to depart. “ I'll think 
it over and tell you later/' he said. “ It’s too late now 
to take back the cream anyway. But it was a mean 
trick all the same.” 

“ It certainly was/' assented Mott. “ And it won't 
happen again, will it, fellows ? " he inquired, turning 
to his classmates as he spoke. 

“ Not if we know ourselves,” assented one of them 
eagerly. 

As the possibility of a recurrence of the “ joke ” was 
certainly not threatening, inasmuch as the reception 
was an annual affair and there would be no oppor- 
tunity to repeat it while the men before him were 
freshmen, Will laughed slightly as he reached for his 
hat and once more prepared to depart. 

“■ Don't go, Mr. Phelps,” said Mott quickly. 
“ These fellows are not going to stay and I'd like very 
much to see you about something important.” 

“ All right,” responded Will lightly. And yet some- 
how he felt as if Mott was the most elusive young 
freshman he had chanced to meet. To all appearances 
he had had nothing to do with the escapade at the 
president's house, and yet Will was by no means posi- 
tive that young Mott had been without a share, or at 
least without knowledge of what was being done. And 
then the manner in which he had contrived to assuage 
a measure of Will's indignation and at the same time 
make a plea for his guilty classmates that had proved 
effectual was by no means satisfactory to the junior, 
though he found himself acquiescing in the result. 


74 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“Well, what is it, Mott?” he inquired when the 
freshmen were gone and he had seated himself in the 
easy chair which Mott moved toward him. 

“ I want to ask you a question, Mr. Phelps.” 

“ Ask it.” 

“Don’t you think my brother made a mistake in 
having me room here ? ” 

“ Why?” 

“Oh, the fellows are all right enough here, but 
they’re not exactly my kind.” 

“ What is your kind ? ” 

“ You know what I mean. You didn’t room here 
in your freshman year, now did you, Mr. Phelps ? ” 

“No, I didn’t room here. But there are special 
reasons, as I understand it, why your brother thought 
it would be best for you.” 

“ Oh, yes. He wants me to profit by his mistakes. 
If I have to profit in that way I think I’d rather take 
it from my own mistakes than from his.” Mott was 
speaking in his most demure manner and Will Phelps 
laughed in spite of his desire to appear serious. 

“ You’ll probably make enough to teach you a few 
lessons, as it is,” he said with a twinkle in his eyes. 

“ I haven’t any doubt about that,” responded Mott. 
“ But I don’t want to add a lot of electives, you see. 
The course is hard enough and long enough anyway. 
Now, Mr. Phelps, just think of what these fellows 
did to-night. I don’t want to get mixed up in any 
such fool tricks and you don’t want me to, either. 
Now, do you, Mr. Phelps? ” 


IN THE FRESHMAN^ ROOM 


75 


“ Of course I don’t. But you don’t have to. It isn’t 
where a fellow rooms that decides that, you must 
understand.” 

“ I do understand. But I’m like poor dog Tray. 
A fellow is known by the company he keeps. I’m not 
afraid of the company I’ll keep,” he added hastily as 
he saw that Will was about to speak. “ It’s the com- 
pany that’ll keep me I’m afraid of. I wish I was out 
of this, and if you should write my brother I think 
he’d listen to you, for he thinks you are all to the 
good.” 

“ I’ll think it over.” 

“ That’s good of you, Mr. Phelps. I knew you’d do 
it!” 

“ I didn’t say I’d do it. I said I’d think about it.” 

“ That’s the same thing,” said Mott eagerly. “ Oh, 
there’s another thing I wanted to ask you about, Mr. 
Phelps,” he added. 

“ What is it ? ” 

“ You’ve tramped all over these hills, haven’t you? 
I think my brother used to tell me about lots of walks 
he’d taken with you.” 

Will smiled as he recalled the one eventful walk he 
had taken with the elder Mott , 1 and said, “ Yes, I’ve 
been over most of the region.” 

“ Which is the best tramp for a fellow to take 
first?” 

“ Any one. He’ll take them all before he’s through 
college.” 


1 See “Winning His'W.’” 


76 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ There’s one walk I hear it isn’t safe to take,” sug- 
gested Mott. 

“ ‘ Isn’t safe ’ ? I never heard of any that weren’t 
safe. Which one?” 

“ The one over East Mountain.” 

“ I’ve been over it a half-dozen times. I never 
found any trouble.” 

“ Why, didn’t you hear what took place there this 
very summer?” 

“ What do you mean ? I didn’t hear anything.” 

“ Why, one day last August two men started out 
from the hotel to take a walk over East Mountain. 
Lots of people saw them start and a good many met 
them on the path up the mountain.” 

"Well, that’s not so very dangerous, is it?” 
laughed Will. 

"Yes, but wait, Mr. Phelps. In spite of what I 
said about people seeing and meeting these two men, 
no one ever saw them come back. Several men saw 
them go up and up and up, but not a trace of them 
could be found after they suddenly had disappeared 
right near the summit.” 

“ I never heard of it,” said Will, who was deeply 
interested now. “ You say they were seen going up 
the side of the mountain ? ” 

“ Yes, sir. They were seen all the way up and then 
they just disappeared.” 

“ And they never came back ? ” 

“ Never.” 

“ Why, I think there must be some mistake about 


IN THE FRESHMAN’S ROOM 


77 


it, Mott. I haven’t heard a word about it. I think 
I should, if such a serious thing had really hap- 
pened.” 

" But it did happen, Mr. Phelps ! I know it did ! ” 
said Mott eagerly. 

" You say they never came back ? ” 

" Yes, sir, that’s just what I said.” 

" Weren’t any searching parties sent out ? ” 

“ I don’t know, but I don’t think there were.” 

"There must have been! And you say that they 
were never heard of afterwards ? ” 

"Not quite. No, I didn’t say that. I said they 
were seen all the way up and then they just disap- 
peared from sight.” 

" Strange I never heard about it. I never knew any 
one to be lost on East Mountain.” 

" They weren’t lost,” said Mott solemnly. 

"Did they find them?” inquired Will eagerly. 

" Oh, yes. The two men went up and up and up 
this side of the mountain. And then they — went 
down the other side to Chelsea and there they took the 
train and started for New York.” 

Not a muscle in Mott’s expressionless face had 
moved, and Will had been led absolutely without sus- 
picion into the trap. There was a silence in the room 
for a moment and then Will rose from his seat, and 
with a light laugh said : 

" You’ll do, freshman ! You don’t need to come to 
me for any advice.” 

" Oh, but I want to, Mr. Phelps ! ” 


78 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ You don’t need any help I can give you.” 

“ Yes, I do. You’ll write my brother, won’t you, 
Mr. Phelps?” 

“ Not to-night.” 

“ To-morrow, then?” 

“ That’s too far away. I might be lost on East 
Mountain before that time comes. I don’t dare trust 
myself after your story.” 

Will Phelps departed from North Hall, puzzled 
concerning young Mott. He was interested far more 
than he had expected to be in the demure freshman 
who was evidently destined to be a leading spirit in 
college affairs. There was something exceedingly 
attractive in the personality of the lad, and despite his 
recollection of the elder brother, who had been 
expelled from college and for whom Will had never 
felt a strong liking, he nevertheless was strongly 
drawn in many ways to this younger brother. 

He had walked on thinking over the interview and 
laughing quietly as he recalled how the freshman had 
made him appear almost ridiculous by his tale of the 
“ adventure ” on East Mountain when he suddenly 
was aware that he had left his cane in Mott’s room. 

Instantly turning about, he ran swiftly back to 
Mott’s room and without the ceremony of rapping 
opened the door. On the table in the center of the 
room was a large dish of ice cream, and standing 
upon the table was Mott, a long iron spoon in his 
hands with which he was serving the tempting treat 
to the four freshmen who were seated in the room. 

















































* 









































































* 



Have some cream, Mr. Phelps? ’ called 
Mott from his place on the table.” 

Page 79. 




CHAPTER VIII 

THE CLASS MEETING 

H AVE some cream, Mr. Phelps?” called Mott 
glibly from his place on the table. 

Angry as Will was at the sight before him 
he nevertheless was compelled to laugh at the fright- 
ened aspect of Mott’s companions at the entrance of 
the junior, though Mott himself did not, as far as 
appearances went, appear to be in the least discon- 
certed by the unexpected return of his recent visitor. 

For a moment Will glared at the little assembly and 
then without a word took the cane for which he had 
come and left the building. He was still more puzzled 
to know what was best for him to do as he walked on 
toward his rooms, and the question had not been 
decided when he entered the house and joined Foster 
and Wilkins, who were seated in the library. 

In a few words he related what had occurred, 
though he did not refer to young Mott by name, and 
then inquired of his friends what in their judgment 
was best to be done. 

“ You’re taking too much on yourself, Will,” said 
Wilkins soberly. “ The discipline of the college and 
the reformation of all the young freshman reprobates 
in the college isn’t what your father sent you here for, 
is it?” 


79 


80 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ Perhaps not,” replied Will, “ but when a fellow 
has seen how cut up they were at Prexy’s house over 
the rascally trick, and when he knows just who the fool 
freshmen were that made all the trouble, why he 
doesn’t feel just as if he ought not to do anything.” 

“ Work on the freshmen, Will. Don’t get mixed up 
with the faculty. It’s their business and not yours to 
deal with the affair itself.” 

“ Oh, I know that,” laughed Will. “ I’m not posing 
as the faculty detective. You can rest easy about 
that ! But what I’m troubled about is this freshman 
Mott. He’s about the coolest hand for a freshman I’ve 
ever run across yet.” And then he told how Mott had 
drawn him on into the story of the “ strange disap- 
pearance” of the two men who had climbed East 
Mountain in the preceding August. 

Both his companions laughed heartily over the story, 
and Foster said, “My advice to you, Will, is to drop 
the fellow. You’ll get your fingers burned before 
you’re done with him. He’s a Mott, that’s all clear 
enough, and * blood tells,’ you know.” 

Will did not reply, and the conversation changed to 
other topics, though Will himself did not cease to 
think of the young freshman, who somehow in spite of 
his tricks appealed to him strongly. 

“What did you tell Bonnett Will?” inquired 
Wilkins. 

“ I told him I wouldn’t do it.” 

“ That’s right ! ” said Wilkins warmly. “ Have as 
little to do with him as you can.” 


THE CLASS MEETING 


81 


“He has a lot of influence in college,” suggested 
Will. “ lie’s a leader, and then too, he’s halfback on 
the football team this year, you know.” 

“ That may be, but he’s a ‘ way back ’ in his stand- 
ing,” suggested Wilkins. 

“ I don’t think that always counts,” laughed Foster. 
“What I’ve got against him is that he plays on the 
team under an assumed name.” 

“ Not exactly,” suggested Will, who, though he had 
no special liking for Bonnett, with the perversity of 
human nature was quick to defend the man who had 
been friendly to him and who was not present to 
defend himself. “ That isn’t quite it, you know, 
Foster,” he added. 

“Why not? His name is Bonnett, but if you’ll 
look in the papers for the account of the first game 
we play you won’t find Bonnett but Hodges given in 
the list of our players.” 

“ Well, his middle name is Hodges, isn’t it? Robert 
Hodges Bonnett.” 

“ That is beating the devil around the bush and you 
know it.” 

“ It isn’t the proper thing, I’ll acknowledge,” said 
Will. 

“ What does he do it for ? ” inquired Wilkins. 

“ Why, it’s this way, as I understand it. He has an 
aunt who is very fond of him and she is said to have 
money. She hates football as much as she likes Bon- 
nett, so she has told him — at least that’s the way I’ve 
heard it — that if he wouldn’t play the game while he’s 

F 


82 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


in college she’d leave him a couple of hundred thou- 
sand in her will. In fact, it’s reported she’s made her 
will already.” 

“ How old is she? ” said Wilkins soberly. 

“ I don’t know. I’ve never seen the lady in ques- 
tion, but she’s old enough to know better, anyway. It 
isn’t fair to either one of them.” 

“ That may be so, but it doesn’t help Bonnett any,” 
retorted Foster warmly. 

“ Even so, milord ; she’s put a temptation before 
him too strong to bear.” 

“ The fellow’s a sneak ! Don’t you trust him a min- 
ute ! Don’t you have anything to do with him ! ” said 
Wilkins quietly. 

“ Probably I sha’n’t — after this,” laughed Will. 
“ He’ll run if he sees me coming.” 

“ Well, you fellows must be good to yourselves,” 
said Wilkins, rising from his chair. “ I have to leave 
at six-thirty to-morrow morning, so I’ll not expect to 
see you till I come up to Winthrop some time this 
winter.” 

“ Come up as often as you can, Willie,” said Will 
cordially. “ You know we’ll always be glad to see 
you. Your advice — and nerve — do more for us some- 
times than you can imagine.” 

“ Thank you, kind sir. I should like to spend more 
time among these purple hills, but duty calls and I 
must obey. I’ve got to go back and get ready to 
relieve suffering humanity — and incidentally make all 
kinds of dollars.” 


THE CLASS MEETING 


83 


“ There’s one kind you’ll never get,” laughed Will. 

“ What’s that?” 

“ Dishonest ones.” 

“ Not if the court knows itself,” responded Wilkins. 
“ There’s one thing I decided a long time ago and that 
was that I’d never charge for anything I ever did for 
a man — unless he could pay it.” 

Will laughed, for the huge “ Willie ” was speaking 
with apparent seriousness. “ I am glad I’m to be a 
doctor, not a lawyer. I’ll have a chance to be more 
honest, you see. Why, I read the other day of a fellow 
who’d robbed a bank of twenty thousand dollars, and 
when he was hauled up he went to a lawyer for coun- 
sel. The humble lawyer asked him two questions — 
one if the fellow had really taken the money, and the 
chap owned up he had. Then the lawyer asked him 
how much of it he had left, and the poor fellow 
declared he had just ten dollars remaining. The 
lawyer then told him he would better plead guilty 
and throw himself on the mercy of the court. The 
poor chap snivelled that he would, and then, to show 
that he wasn’t all bad, he asked the lawyer how much 
he should pay him for his advice. Now what do you 
suppose that rascally lawyer charged him ? ” 

“ Ten dollars,” replied Will promptly. 

“ That’s just what he did,” answered Wilkins. 

“ That’s your story, Wilkins,” retorted Will, who 
was hoping to follow in his own father’s footsteps and 
become a lawyer himself. “ I heard one on the doctors 
the other day too, and you’ve got to hear it. There 


84 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


was a poor fellow taken sick on the street and a hurry 
call was sent to the hospital for an ambulance. When 
they got him on a bed in the hospital two young doc- 
tors worked over him for a spell, and then when they’d 
about decided what the trouble was, one of them 
turned to the patient and said to him, ‘ How much 
money have you got ? 5 ‘ Two hundred dollars/ 

gasped the poor chap. ‘ That settles it/ said the doc- 
tor to the other physician. ‘ This is a very bad attack 
of appendicitis and this poor fellow will have to be 
operated upon at once.’ ‘ I agree with you perfectly/ 
said the other doctor. ‘ If he hadn’t had but five dol- 
lars it would have been an attack of acute indiges- 
tion, but as he has a couple of hundred, it’s appendi- 
citis beyond the shadow of a doubt.’ ” 

“The wonder is that they didn’t charge him two 
hundred dollars for their advice and let the fellow go,” 
said Foster. 

“ Gentlemen, you are both wrong. You must not 
believe everything you hear. Even if that story was 
true you must not forget that there is a professional 
side to it. A doctor has a duty to his fellow-physi- 
cians as well as to ” 

“Yes, ‘ honor among thieves/” interrupted Will 
with a laugh. 

“ Seriously, boys, and no joking, I have made up 
my mind that there is one thing that’s absolutely 
necessary before a fellow can be very much of a doctor 
or a lawyer either, for the matter of that.” 

“ What do you mean, Willie ? ” inquired Will. 


THE CLASS MEETING 


85 


s 

“ I mean he’s got to be — a man. Nothing can 
come into the place of that.” 

There was no question as to Wilkins’ sincerity, and 
his companions were the more impressed because both 
knew the sterling integrity of their friend from which 
he had never swerved in his college days. Not a man 
in his class had possessed more influence, though 
Wilkins’ voice was seldom heard. He was a fair 
student, the friend of many, though never effusive; 
and it was the absolute feeling of confidence that 
was felt toward him that had counted most in the 
influence he possessed. And his visit at Winthrop at 
the beginning of the college year had really done more 
to .confirm Will Phelps in his line of conduct than 
even Will himself was aware. 

After the departure of Wilkins, the opening work 
demanded so much of Will’s time that he had no 
opportunity to seek out his freshman protege, or 
even to think of the matter of the election of the class 
officers. The date for the meeting called for the latter 
purpose, however, soon arrived, and with scarcely a 
thought of the choice in his mind of the men he per- 
sonally desired to see elected, Will joined Foster on 
his way to the building in which the class was to 
assemble. 

The meeting was called to order by the outgoing 
president, who, after he had expressed his own grati- 
tude for the honor which had been shown him, 
declared that nominations for the new presiding officer 
were then “ in order.” There was a brief moment of 


86 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


silence, and then Clark arose and in most impressive 
tones began to speak. 

“Mr. President/’ he said solemnly, “it is being 
reported on all sides, it is heard among the alumni, it 
is the sole topic of conversation amongst the friends 
of our beloved college, it is a subject upon which the 
press has expressed its opinions again and again, it is 
a matter of interest in every land upon which the sun 

in his beauty shines with his piercing light ” 

“Well, what is it, Clark?” broke in one of the 
members of the class, whereat there was a laugh that 
the presiding officer quickly checked. 

In nowise disconcerted Clark resumed — “ I say, Mr. 
President, that it is a matter of supreme and super- 
abounding importance to all who have the sublimest 
interest of our beloved college at heart, that the 
reports that are spread broadcast throughout the 
whole world that Winthrop is becoming a rich man’s 
college should ineradically and irrevocably be checked. 
How can this be done ? Let me reply, by the election 
to this high office of a man who is worthy in his own 

right of character and inherited genius ” 

“ Who is it, Clark ? ” “ Name your man ! ” “ Make 
your nomination, old boy ! ” These and similar 
demands interrupted the junior, who was apparently 
being carried away by the floods of his own eloquence. 

For the first time somewhat disturbed by the mani- 
fest impatience of the class, Clark said hurriedly, 
“ Mr. President, I nominate Mr. Thorn.” 

Thorn was a North Hall man, quiet, unobtrusive 


THE CLASS MEETING 


87 


and respected for the sterling qualities he had mani- 
fested in working his own way thus far through 
college. 

The nomination was seconded, but was immediately 
followed by the presentation of the name of Wood, 
who was a not unworthy representative of the 
wealthier element in the class. Wood’s nomination 
was followed by that of Carroll, and this in turn by 
three others, so that when the nominations were 
closed, six names were before the class and it was evi- 
dent that there was to be a sharp contest. 

“Bonnett’s quit,” whispered Foster to his room- 
mate. • 

“ Has he?” whispered Will in reply, glancing at 
the junior in question as he spoke. To all appearances 
Bonnett was the least interested member of the class. 
He was leaning back in his seat, with his hands 
clasped behind his head, and looking up at the ceiling 
as if he was bored by the entire proceeding. The tell- 
ers were busy collecting the ballots, and even when 
they were prepared to report, Bonnett did not change 
from his attitude of indifference. The vote of the 
class had been scattered so widely that no one candi- 
date had received the number of ballots requisite to an 
election, for one of the by-laws had required that a 
successful election should be possible only when some 
one had received more than half the votes of the entire 
class. 

A second ballot resulted in no material change, and 
even when two of the candidates withdrew their 


88 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


names, the votes were still so scattered that no class 
president had been elected. 

Bonnett throughout the proceedings had main- 
tained his air of indifference, but after the fourth 
unsuccessful attempt had been made, he suddenly rose 
to his feet and when he began to speak the eyes of 
every junior in the room were at once turned toward 
him. 


CHAPTER IX 


AN ELECTION 

B ONNETT, apparently unaware of the interest 
which his actions had aroused, began to speak. 
“ Mr. President,” he said, “ we have had before 
us the names of some of the best men in our class. 
There is not one that has been presented which would 
not reflect honor upon us and obtain the enthusiastic 
support of every man, if it so chanced that we could 
unite upon any one of them. Unfortunately this is 
just what we are unable to do, though the fact does 
not in any way reflect upon the popularity or the 
respect felt for any one or every one of the men whom 
we have been considering.” 

Bonnett, who understood perfectly the nature of his 
classmates, here paused, and if he noted the tokens of 
approval that greeted his words on every side, appar- 
ently he gave them no heed. In a brief time he 
resumed his speech and said, “ How, Mr. President, 
there are two things that are desired, I am sure, by 
every member of this class. One is that not a trace of 
bitterness should remain among us after this election 
has taken place, and the other is that we should still 
have a man for president who will in the eyes of the 
college worthily represent us. Personally I should be 
satisfied with the election of any one of the men who 

89 


90 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


have been nominated, but the good of this class and 
the welfare of the college demand that every one of 
us should be willing to lay aside his own personal feel- 
ings in this matter. Mr. President, if it is possible, I 
should like to present a solution of this delicate and 
difficult problem, but in order to do so it will be neces- 
sary that the nominations be reopened. Can this be 
done?” 

In response to Bonnett’s words the action was 
hastily taken, the junior not relinquishing his place 
upon the floor while the vote was being taken. Foster 
glanced at his room-mate and smiled, but Will’s face 
was expressionless and he did not respond to his 
friend’s meaning glance. 

“ Mr. President,” began Bonnett again when the 
time for him to speak once more had come, “ I trust 
I am duly grateful to you and to the class for this 
courteous consideration. It comes, I know, not be- 
cause I chanced to be s the one to make the request or 
suggestion, but because every one of us has the same 
purpose and desire in mind. Now, Mr. President, 
having said this, and having spoken what I know 
every one here will acknowledge to be the simple 
truth when I said not a man would in his heart object 
to the election of any man whose name has been before 
us, I want to say a word more. The man to be presi- 
dent of our class in junior year must be one that the 
whole college looks up to. We are no longer freshmen 
and don’t choose our officers without knowing some- 
thing of what they are. He must be a man of stand- 


AN ELECTION 


91 


ing, a fellow who has dignity, ability, and he must be 
a gentleman. There is not one of you who will not 
agree with me that the man whose name I am about 
to present to you has all these qualities, and, in addi- 
tion, has a personal popularity in college that is 
second to that of no student in Winthrop.” 

Again Bonnett paused, perhaps to observe what the 
effect of his words had been and perhaps to create just 
the condition he desired when he should proceed to 
the climax of his speech. Every face was turned 
toward him and the silence in the room was intense. 

"Mr. President,” resumed Bonnett, dropping his 
voice slightly and speaking very slowly, “ the man 
whose name I present for this high office ”• — again 
there was a slight and significant pause on the speak- 
er's part — “ is Phelps ! ” 

Instantly a shout went up from the assembly that 
clearly showed that Bonnett had not spoken without a 
careful understanding of his audience. Will's face 
flushed and his eyes almost seemed to shoot fire as he 
turned for a moment to Foster, who was shouting as 
loudly as the loudest. 

Before the uproar ceased Clark had arisen and in 
his most ponderous tones seconded the nomination, 
whereat the applause was renewed. 

“ Mr. President,” shouted Thorn, who had been 
Clark's candidate — and when it was seen who the 
speaker was the turmoil quickly subsided, while all 
turned, eager to hear what the unsuccessful candidate 
had to say — “ Mr. President,” repeated Thorn, “ this 


92 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


nomination is so evidently the expression of the true 
feeling of the class that I move that we dispense with 
our usual form of balloting and that the secretary of 
our class be instructed to cast a ballot for Phelps as 
class president for junior year/’ 

“ Second the motion ! ” “ Second the motion ! ” 

came from every side of the room. 

“ Mr. President ! ” The storm again subsided as 
it was seen that Will Phelps had risen and was 
addressing the chairman. “ I trust that you and all 
the fellows in the class will not misunderstand me 

when I say that I donT want this office. I told ” 

Will stopped abruptly as he felt Foster kick his 
foot — “ I mean that I said to the one member of the 
class who spoke to me several days ago, trying to make 
me believe that the feeling he was good enough to have 
in his heart for me was the general feeling of the 
class ” 

“ Question! Question!” broke in some of the 
laughing boys. 

“ The question is called for,” responded the presid- 
ing officer. “ We all appreciate the feeling of Mr. 
Phelps and can assure him that if he had sought the 
office he would not be the man we want. As many of 
you as favor the motion which has been made, that 
the secretary of the class cast the ballot for Phelps as 
president, say, ‘ Aye/ ” 

A shout went up from the assembly in response to 
the demand. 

“ As many as oppose the motion will say, ‘ No/ ” 


AN ELECTION 


93 


A silence rested over the room for a moment and 
then shouts and calls of “ Phelps ! Phelps ! ” broke 
forth on every side. 

“ The motion is carried unanimously,” said the re- 
tiring president, and a moment later, when the secre- 
tary had gone through the formality of casting a bal- 
lot for William Phelps, the presiding officer continued 
— “ Mr. Phelps is elected president of our class for 
junior year. Mr. Phelps, will you come forward and 
take the chair ? ” 

Will still hesitated, for in spite of the pleasure 
which naturally he felt in his enthusiastic election, 
there was also a feeling of anger as well in his heart. 
He glanced toward Bonnett, but his classmate was 
apparently unaware of his existence, for he had 
resumed his former position and was looking up 
toward the ceiling, with his hands still clasped behind 
his head. Before Will could speak or protest, Poster 
had given him a gentle push that sent him forward, 
and as the applause was renewed, Will with flushed 
face and his eyes shining advanced and took his posi- 
tion. 

“ Speech ! Speech ! ” demanded the noisy assembly. 

Will smiled, and as he gazed down at the eager 
faces before him his anger departed. The joy of an 
unexpected success was his and he said, “ If I did not 
appreciate the good-will of the class to-day, I know I 
should not be fit to be your presiding officer. Hot that 
even with it I consider myself fitted for this place of 
honor. And yet, fellows, I do appreciate your confi- 


94 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


dence in me, and I'll do my best not to rilake you 
ashamed of your president. I want the class to keep 
right on in the direction in which it has been going, 
and Fll promise you to do ever}dhing in my power to 
push the good work on. I know you’ll do your part. 
I thank you from the bottom of my heart for the 
honor you have bestowed upon me.” 

The speech was greeted with cheers, and the class 
and college “ yells ” were given with a will, and then 
the further business of the meeting was transacted. 
This was speedily and easily accomplished, and when 
the meeting was adjourned a host of his classmates 
assembled about Will expressing their pleasure at his 
election and congratulating him with the heartiness 
that is never found outside young life. 

The words of praise were sweet to Will’s heart and 
his former feeling of anger was entirely gone. He 
noticed that Bonnett had not come near him since 
the election, but had at once quietly departed from the 
room as soon as the meeting had been adjourned. He 
smiled as he thought he understood the reason for the 
apparent lack of interest, and when at last he and 
Foster were together walking slowly back toward their 
room, he said, “ Foster, Bonnett is a slick article, isn’t 
he?” 

“ He’s a good speaker.” 

“ I don’t mean that. But don’t you see what he did 
to-night ? ” 

“ I saw that he nominated you in a mighty good 
speech and that you ought to feel thankful to him.” 


AN ELECTION 


95 


“ Pm not” laughed Will. “ Oh, I don't mean to 
put on any airs/' he hastily added. “ Of course I'm 
not such a fool as not to appreciate my election. It’s 
not that. But don’t you see what Bonnett was up to 
all the time ? '' 

“ I don’t see. I'm thick, perhaps, but it seems to me 
he did just the right thing and at just the right time 
and in just the right way.” 

“ Yes, he’s succeeded in shutting me out from any 
chance of being elected president in senior year. Oh, 
I know I’m not modest,” he added laughingly. "I 
acknowledge I may be taking too much on myself, but 
it does seem to me that what Bonnett was after was to 
shut me out next year a good deal more than to have 
me elected this year, though he had to do that to get 
the other.” 

“ You’re a grateful fellow, I must say.” 

“ I know I am,” laughed Will. “ But listen, Foster. 
Didn’t you see, just the minute the nominations were 
made, that Bonnett had been at work ? ” . 

“ N o, I didn’t see it.” 

"Well, if Thorn had been the only nominee he’d 
have been elected as sure as fate, wouldn’t he ? ” 

“ I don’t know. Perhaps.” 

“ Well, I know he would. But he wasn’t the only 
one. Just as soon as Clark had nominated Thorn, 
who represented the North Hall and West Hall 
crowds, then some one else was put up, some one else 
that really represented another crowd. And so it went 
on till every separate crowd in the class had a man.” 


96 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“Well?” 

“ Well, it was all done in such a way that no one 
suspected what was going on. And there wasn’t the 
ghost of a show for any one of the six. Well, after 
they’d all had a chance and every one could see that 
there wasn’t much show for any one of the six to be 
elected, then Bonnett comes along with his fine work, 
and without saying a word about the combine he’d 
made, he really appealed to it, after all, and sprung 
my name on the class at a time when the fellows he 
knew he could depend upon would get together.” 

“ I hadn’t thought of it in that way,” replied Foster 
slowly. “ It may be you’re right.” 

“ Right ’ ? Of course I’m right ! and yet I don’t 
believe there are a half-dozen fellows in the class that 
suspected a thing. And Bonnett has got me right 
where he wants me and you’ll see next year what’ll 
happen.” 

“ If it really is as you say, Bonnett is smarter than 
I gave him credit for being. You’re not committed, 
though, Will.” 

“ Better ask Bonnett about that,” retorted Will. 
“Of course I’m not actually, but I wouldn’t have 
taken the place if you hadn’t pushed me into it.” 

“ I’m glad I did, then,” said Foster cordially. 

For several days following the election the life of 
the college moved on in its regular way and there was 
little of special interest. The work in the classrooms 
had fallen into its regular grooves, the football team 
was in training for the autumn contests, there was the 


AN ELECTION 


97 


annual " rushing ” by the various fraternities among 
the more desirable freshmen, and to all appearances 
Winthrop had settled down into the somewhat monot- 
onous routine of the college year. 

Every night Mott had come to Will’s room until 
Foster began to rebel at the too evident attentions of 
the freshman. Will laughingly had upheld his pro- 
tege, and, indeed, since he had decided not to do any- 
thing more in the matter of the theft of the ice cream 
from the president’s house, he had felt somehow that 
he ought to do his best to hold the perplexing fresh- 
man to his legitimate tasks. 

It was Saturday night and Mott had come for his 
daily visit. He still was as demure as ever, and Will 
was as convinced as ever he had been that his fresh- 
man admirer was in need of his own close personal 
attention. 

" Hello, Mott,” he called out as his visitor entered. 
" What mischief have you been up to to-day ? ” 

" I haven’t been in any mischief,” replied Mott 
soberly. " I don’t see why you always ask me that 
question the first thing.” 

"It is strange. I can’t account for it myself,” 
responded Will with a laugh. 

" It’s true what you said about Splinter,” said Mott. 

" What did I say about him ? ” 

"You know,” responded Mott demurely. "And 
it’s true. What do you suppose he said to me to-day ? 
And right before the whole class.” 

" What did he say ? What was it ? ” 

G 


98 


WINNING HIS DEGKEE 


“ Why, he said to me, and the whole class could hear 
it too,” added Mott as if he was sorrowing over the 
weakness of the professor in Greek, “ he said, ‘ Mr. 
Mott, I can’t find out that you know anything. I 
don’t believe you do. I don’t believe you know that 
Plato and Xenophon are dead.’ ” 

“ What did you say ? ” 

“ Why, I said, ‘ Why, professor, I didn’t even know 
they were sick.’ ” 


CHAPTER X 

THE RAPID, ROUNDED, ROLLING ORB 


W ILL PHELPS threw back his head and 
laughed aloud. Mott’s expressionless counte- 
nance was of itself sufficient to start his 
mirth, but when Will pictured to himself the helpless 
anger of the professor of Greek and the demure 
countenance of the rebuked freshman gazing in 
apparent surprise at the childlike man and 
uttering his apparently innocent reply to the rebuke 
that had been given, his laughter broke forth afresh. 
“ What did Splinter do then ? ” he inquired at last. 

“ Not much of anything. Why should he? What 
was there for him to do ? I am sure I was not to blame 
for not knowing the old guys were sick, much less 
dead. But the class did seem a bit surprised at my 
ignorance,” Mott added dryly, a twinkle appearing 
once more in his eyes. “ I did my best to hush them 
up, but they seemed to think what I had said was 
funny.” 

“ Didn’t the professor enjoy it?” 

“ He didn’t seem to. He jumped to his feet and 
piped out that he wanted ' order’ in the classroom. 
After a time the fellows quieted down, but Splinter 
didn’t appear to be satisfied, for when we were going 
out of the room he touched me on the shoulder and 

99 


100 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


asked me to stay. I was in a great hurry. I didn’t 
really see how I could stay, Mr. Phelps, but I didn’t 
want to seem unmindful of the special attention he 
had given me, so unselfishly I gave up my own plans 
and stayed.” 

“ That was good of you.” 

“ Yes, but I don’t deserve any special credit for it. 
It’s my nature. I was born that way.” 

Again Will laughed, for the young freshman’s face 
bore an expression of mock humility that was almost 
irresistible. “ What did Splinter have to say for him- 
self?” he inquired. 

“ Oh, he’s a kind-hearted man in his way, though 
his way isn’t like mine, Mr. Phelps. Not in the least 
like it. He gave me a lot of good advice, but I’m 
afraid I wasn’t quite so responsive as he thought I 
ought to be, for his face fired up toward the last, and 
taking hold of me by the arm he looked into my face 
and said, ‘ I am very much afraid, young man, that 
Satan has gotten hold of you.’ ” 

“ What did you say ? ” 

“ Not much. I looked up into his face, and then I 
looked at his hand on my arm, and then I looked up at 
him again and said, ‘ I’m afraid he has too, professor. 
I quite agree with you.’ ” 

Both Will and Foster laughed and shouted so loudly 
and long that Miller, one of their classmates, came 
running to the room demanding to know “ what was 
up.” Will related what Mott had just told him and 
then Miller too joined in the shout. And throughout 


THE RAPID, ROUNDED, ROLLING ORB 101 

it all Mott never once smiled, but gazed first at one 
of the juniors and then at another as if he was meekly 
striving to understand what the cause of the noisy 
demonstration might be. 

“ I don’t know what is the trouble with some 
people,” said Mott slowly. “You can’t seem to please 
them, no matter what you do. Now if I had told 
Splinter he was mistaken when he said the devil had 
got hold of me I don’t believe he would have liked 
that, and yet when I agreed with him he didn’t seem 
to be very much pleased either.” 

“ Strange he shouldn’t have been,” shouted Miller 
as he led another outburst of laughter. “ What did he 
do then?” 

“ Nothing. He looked at me as if he wanted very 
much to say something, but the English language 
probably didn’t fit in very well, and if he had used 
Greek — why, I didn’t have my ‘pony’ along with 
me, so I’m afraid it would not have had any imme- 
diate effect on me. I waited and waited, but all he did 
was to stare at me, so finally I explained that I had 
another ‘ date ’ and must be excused.” 

“ And he let you go ? ” 

“Of course. Why not ? Why should he have 
objected ? ” 

“ Oh, nothing,” laughed Miller. “ You may hear 
from him again.” 

“I shall be pleased to. I don’t lay up anything 
against him.” 

Again the three juniors laughed noisily and Miller 


102 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


said, “ Well, Mott, you certainly are the richest fresh- 
man old Winthrop has struck for many a day.” 

“ I don’t see why you say that,” replied Mott 
reproachfully. 

“ I don’t see why I do either,” responded Miller 
laughingly. 

“ I didn’t come over here to-night to talk about 
myself, Mr. Phelps,” said Mott. “ I came to tell you 
you’d better look after one of the men in your own 
class.” 

“ That’s kind of you, Mott. When you’ve finished 
up your work for the faculty you turn to the poor 
benighted juniors, do you ? ” 

“ You needn’t laugh, Mr. Phelps,” said Mott 
reproachfully. “ I mean just what I say.” 

“ Who’s the man we ought to look after ? ” 

“ Thorn.” 

“ What’s the matter with him ? ” 

“ He’s gone to the bad.” 

“ ‘ Gone to the bad ’ ! Why, you freshman, Thorn 
is going to be a minister.” 

“ I don’t know anything about that, but he’s gone 
to the bad all the same.” 

“ What do you mean ? ” 

“ Just what I say. He’s gone to the bad,” repeated 
the freshman positively. 

“ You’re dreaming, freshman. He’s as sober as a 
judge.” 

“ Well, you can believe me or not, but I’m telling 
you the truth. I saw him myself.” 


% 



“ ‘ I don’t see why you say that,’ 
replied Mott reproachfully.” 

Page 102. 








THE RAPID, ROUNDED, ROLLING ORB 103 

“ Saw him ? Saw him what ? ” 

“ Go to the bad.” 

“ When?” 

“ Yesterday.” 

“ Yesterday was Sunday. Man alive, you’ve been 
fooled ! ” 

“ I know what I saw,” persisted Mott sturdily. 

“ What did you see?” demanded Will. 

“ I saw Thorn going to the bad. I know he was one 
of the men that ran against you, Mr. Phelps, for 
president of the junior class, but I thought you might 
like to hear of it. You’ve helped me, you know.” 

“ Tell us what you mean. I can’t believe you saw 
Thorn doing anything he ought not to.” 

“ I didn’t say I did, Mr. Phelps.” 

“ Why, yes, you did. You said you did.” 

“ I beg your pardon. I said I saw him go to the 
bad.” Mott had moved to a position nearer the door, 
but no one in the room had noted his change. “ I’ll 
tell you how it was. I saw him yesterday with his 
Bible under his arm starting off for the Mills. He 
has a Sunday-school class there every Sunday after- 
noon, and they tell me it’s the hardest, worst lot there 
that can be found in the State. And if he goes over 
to teach them, and if that isn’t going to the bad, then 
I don’t understand English any better than I do 
Greek. Good-night, Mr. Phelps.” And without 
waiting for a response, Mott slid through the door- 
way, ran hastily down the stairs, and speedily vanished 
from sight. 


104 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ You’re spoiling that freshman, Will,” said Foster 
after their visitor was gone. 

“ You give me too much credit. You forget I’ve 
known him only a few days.” 

“ But you are, just the same.” 

“ How?” 

“ He’s a slick article, and he comes around here to 
report just enough to let you know he’s up to mis- 
chief and still not tell you all. He makes you laugh 
at him, and he thinks that’s enough. You mustn’t 
forget, Will, that you’re one of the committee on the 
honor system now.” 

“ So I am. That’s as true as you live, Foster, 
and I’d never thought of it once. Let me see, it’s 
made up of the president of the senior class, the 
president of the junior class, and the president of the 
sophomore class, isn’t it ? ” 

“You know it is.” 

“ Well, I confess I hadn’t thought much about it. 
How is it the fourth man is chosen? There are four 
on the committee, aren’t there ? ” 

“Yes; four. The fourth is chosen by the other 
three.” 

“ That’s so. I suppose there’ll be a meeting called 
soon.” 

“Very likely, and you mark my words! One of 
the first cases you’ll have to deal with will be young 
Mott. You’re getting tied up by him.” 

“ You don’t like him, Foster.” 

“Ho, I don’t. He was impertinent to Splinter.” 


THE RAPID, ROUNDED, ROLLING ORB 105 

“ No doubt. But that doesn’t excuse Splinter for 
abusing him before the whole class. I don’t feel very 
bad about that, I confess.” 

“ It isn’t one thing alone. It’s the make-up of the 
chap. He’ll get you into trouble, you mark my words. 
It’s in him.” 

“ Come on, fellows. Come over to my room. I’ve 
got a letter there from Alden. 1 They want to arrange 
for a debate with us,” said Miller. 

“ They certainly have their nerve.” 

“ We’ll need all ours if we win,” responded Miller, 
who was known as one of the best debaters in college. 
Will Phelps himself was also looked upon as a 
promising man in this same line, and his interest in 
the statement which had been made was naturally 
at once aroused. 

“Say, fellows,” he said quickly, “before we go I 
want to read you a poem that has just come in for the 
‘ Lit.’ Tell me what you think of it.” 

There were two publications by the students of 
Winthrop College — one a weekly journal known as 
the “ Winthrop Student.” This publication was of 
general interest to students, friends, and alumni of 
the college, chronicling the events of the college life 
and providing a means of expression for the students. 
Its accounts of the deeds of the various athletic teams 
were all very full, and every notable achievement of 
the alumni was duly set forth. The board of editors 

1 Alden College was Winthrop’s nearest and closest rival. See “Win- 
ning His * W.’ ” 


106 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


was made up for the greater part of students selected 
after competitive trials and certain fixed require- 
ments as to work and contributions to the pages of 
the “ Student,” who had ambitions toward a journal- 
istic career when the college course should be duly 
completed. The “ Student ” was a credit to the 
college and a position on its editorial board was con- 
sidered one of the honors. 

In addition to the weekly “ Student,” there was 
another magazine having the title, “ Winthrop Liter- 
ary Magazine.” This was issued monthly during the 
college year, and it was looked upon as being of a 
superior literary quality to the journalistic pages of 
the “ Student,” though as to whether this claim was 
true or not was a matter of some difference of opinion 
among the Winthrop students. Its reputation, how- 
ever, was established on this somewhat unsubstantial 
basis, and its editors were selected from upper-class- 
men alone and only from those who had written for 
its columns articles — stories, essays, poems, reviews, 
etc. — that were considered worthy of special recogni- 
tion. 

Will Phelps had written two articles for the “ Lit,” 
as the magazine was called, in his sophomore year, 
and at the close of the year had been duly selected as 
one of the board for the following year. The honor 
had appealed strongly to him, and during the summer 
he had worked busily upon a “poem” which he 
planned to have appear in one of the early issues of 
the magazine. 


THE RAPID, ROUNDED, ROLLING ORB 107 

As the time for using it was drawing nigh his cour- 
age somewhat failed him. He read and re-read, cor- 
rected, revised and changed, wrote and re-wrote — 
sometimes assuring himself that he had really written 
something of worth, and then with a sinking of his 
heart feeling positive that the “ stuff ” was absolutely 
worthless. 

At last he hit upon the plan of reading it to some 
of his fellows without explaining who the author was, 
and thus obtaining a much more candid judgment 
than otherwise could be possible. 

“ What’s the subject, Will?” demanded Miller 
lightly. 

“ Light.” 

“ Hot very novel,” laughed Foster. 

“ The treatment seems to be fresh, though,” replied 
Will, turning his face away as he spoke, for fear that 
its expression might betray him. 

“What is it?” 

“ Why, the writer takes up the first thrills the dark- 
ness must have felt when the shafts of light shot 
through it, then he goes on to the world on which it 
shone, then into the lives of men, then as it appeared 
in the Light of the World.” 

“ Plenty of room, anyway,” suggested Miller. 

“Room enough to get lost in,” assented Foster. 
“ Probably some freshman. Come on ! Let’s go over 
to Miller’s room and see the letter from Alden.” 

“ Hold on a minute ! Let’s hear the poem,” said 
Miller. “ Is it long ? ” 


108 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ Not very. Only about fifty lines. It begins with 
an apostrophe to the sun. 

“Thou rapid, rolling, rounded orb 
Whose beams celestial ” 

“ Hold on, Will ! that’s enough ! ” said Miller. 
“ It’s a freshman. Who’s the guilty one ? Only the 
Eiehmond colored preacher and freshmen believe ‘ the 
sun do move.’ This fellow talks about a ‘ rapid, roll- 
ing ’ sun. We don’t know any such kind. Put it up 
and come over to my room.” 


CHAPTER XI 


REALISM 

“TN spite of all that you fellows say, I think there’s 

JL something in the poem,” declared Will Phelps 
emphatically. He had turned about on his 
revolving chair as he spoke and thrust the manuscript 
into a drawer in his desk. His cheeks were scarlet 
and he was desirous of avoiding the gaze of his class- 
mates until he could recover a measure of self-pos- 
session. 

“ Oh, bother the freshman’s drivel about the sun ! ” 
exclaimed Miller impatiently. “ Come along over to 
my room and we’ll study out what Alden has to say 
for herself. For my part I think she must have lost 
her senses to think she can stand up before Winthrop 
in a debate.” 

“ I hope the judges will take the same view,” 
laughed Will, relieved to have the subject of the con- 
versation changed. “ We lost two of our best debaters 
with last year’s class.” 

“ Oh, that’s what they always say,” retorted Foster 
as he reached for his cap. “ I’ve heard that about the 
football team and the track team, and in fact about 
almost everything in college. There isn’t anything 
done but some poor chap comes along and says, ‘ We’re 
done for this time. We lost the best men we had with 

109 


110 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


the graduation of the seniors/ Fm sick and tired of 
it myself, and I don’t believe a word of it. What has 
been done can be done again. That’s my motto every 
day in the week.” 

“What about any language as compared with the 
Greek?” retorted Will as the three juniors departed 
together from the building on their way to Miller’s 
room to inspect the challenge for a debate. “ Doesn’t 
Splinter say the world has never seen such a language 
before or since ? ‘ A perfect vehicle of expression of 
the clearest thinking of the greatest men.’ Isn’t that 
what he calls it ? Oh, you needn’t laugh,” he quickly 
added. “ I guess I know some things as well as 
others.” 

“Yes, Splinter did say that,” admitted Foster, 
“ but I thought you didn’t have a very high opinion of 
him.” 

“I’m not talking about him, but about whether 
what he said was true or not,” said Will. 

“Oh, well, that’s the exception that proves the 
rule,” retorted Foster. “ You have the authority of 
Splinter himself for that, you remember.” 

“Well, then, what about art?” demanded Will. 
“ Didn’t he say that Phidias and Praxiteles and some 
more of those old fellows set the standard for the 
world? Didn’t he say nobody had ever come up to 
them and that nobody ever could or would ? ” 

“ That’s his opinion.” 

“ And not yours ? ” 

“ I didn’t say so. It may not show itself in the 


KEALISM 


111 


same way — I mean the real spirit of the thing, you 
understand, but that doesn’t mean that it isn’t here, 
does it ? ” said Foster. “ I don’t believe the spirit of 
the thing is dead at all. It just shows itself in other 
ways, that’s all.” 

“Well, how about poetry, then? Why don’t we 
keep up with the old fellows in that if what you say is 
true? Ask Splinter who was the greatest poet that 
ever lived. What would he say ? ” 

“ He’d say Homer, and then he’d go right on to 
give his lecture in which he’d explain that there might 
not have been any Homer, after all ; that what we call 
‘ Homer ’ was just a collection of a whole lot of poems 
written by a bigger lot of men and sung by the ‘ wan- 
dering bards or minstrels’ — I think that’s what he 
calls them. If the whole American people should get 
right down to business I believe for my part they’d 
turn out as good an article as Homer.” 

“ Don’t you believe it, Foster ! ” said Will warmly. 
“ Why, take it right in our own American life. You 
know what Bryant, and Longfellow, and Poe, and 
Lowell, and Whittier, and Emerson did. Just show 
me the men, will you, that to-day can do even the 
work they did ! ” 

“I can,” suggested Miller dryly. 

“You can! Well, just do it then,” said Will 
warmly. 

“The freshman that wrote about the * rapid, roll- 
ing, rounded orb, Whose beams celestial ’ Why, 

you know him yourself. For my part I don’t think 


112 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


you’ve any right to keep back his name from a waiting 
and expectant world.” 

The laugh that arose was not soothing to Wilks 
feelings, but the darkness concealed the expression 
upon his face. In nowise daunted, however, he said 
boldly, “ Well, never mind the poets, then. Show me 
the artists who can touch the old masters, will you ! ” 

“ I can,” said Miller quietly. 

“ Who are they ? ” demanded Will sharply. 

"If you’ll go down to New York with me in the 
Christmas vacation Fll show you some work that’ll 
put the old masters out of the game,” replied Miller. 

“ Perhaps you can, but ” 

“ You don’t believe it?” 

“ I didn’t say so.” 

“No, but you implied it,” responded Miller with 
much apparent feeling. “ And yet I could prove it to 
you. There’s a man that lives near me and he’s made 
a lot of money in charcoal. His name is Dennis ” 

“ I guess I’ve heard of him,” interrupted Will with 
a laugh. 

“No doubt. No doubt. His fame has gone abroad 
throughout the land. But now that he’s got a pile of 
money he’s gone in for art. He goes in for realism — 
for what he calls the real thing. He took me into his 
house last summer to see a new painting he’d just 
bought. He said he’d paid twenty-one thousand three 
hundred and thirty-three dollars and thirty-three 
cents for it. The artist thought Mr. Dennis ought 
to have paid him the odd fraction of the cent more, 


REALISM 


113 


but Mr. Dennis declared c he knew what was what in 
art and no paint dauber couldn’t never fool him no 
time. No sir! Not on your life.’” 

“ What was the painting ? ” inquired Foster. 

“ The title of it was ‘ A Hailstorm on the Moun- 
tain.’ Talk about your old masters ! Why, they don’t 
know the first principles of ‘ we moderns.’ Mr. Den- 
nis said so. And he went on to tell me that when he 
had the picture hung up in his palatial mansion he 
superintended the hanging himself, but he said he 
wouldn’t do it again.” 

“Why not?” laughed Foster. 

“ Said he caught such a cold he thought he’d have 
pneumonia. You see those hailstones were so realis- 
tic. He said too, that the men who were hanging 
the painting for him had to put on ulsters and arctics 
before they were done with it, and it was really one of 
the warmest days in August when they were putting 
the picture up on his walls. He said the men were 
sneezing so by the time the picture was really in place 
that the house fairly shook.” 

“ I guess that’s doing the artistic some,” laughed 
Will. 

“ Well, you’d think so if you saw the painting. He 
had another that was even more realistic than the 
‘ Hailstorm on the Mountain/ ” 

“ You don’t say so ! ” 

“ Yes, I do say so. It was a picture by D’Auber 
Mudd. Ever hear of him ? ” 

“ I confess my ignorance.” 

H 


114 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ Well, you are ignorant, and no mistake. Mr. 
Dennis paid the world-famed artist exactly seven 
hundred dollars and ninety-eight cents for the work 
of art.” 

“ What was it a picture of ? ” 

“ It was an animal portrait.” 

“ A what? You mean an animated portrait, don’t 
you ? ” 

“ I mean just what I say. I always do,” retorted 
Miller sharply. “ Mr. Dennis has a pet fox terrier 
named Barkis.” 

“ Good name. Where did he get it ? ” 

“ Oh, Mr. Dennis is a literary man as well as con- 
noisseur in art,” replied Miller. “ He had a magnifi- 
cent set of Dickens he’d bought about the same time 
he purchased the fox terrier. Paid two hundred and 
four dollars and a quarter for the set, though they 
wanted two hundred and five for it. Mr. Dennis said 
it was a set in three calf.” 

“ Tree calf, he meant, didn’t he ? ” laughed Will. 

“ I don’t know what he meant. That’s what he 
said. Then he paid a dollar and seventy-nine cents 
for the dog. As I was telling you, he bought the set 
of Dickens at the same time he got the dog, and, hav- 
ing the books, I suppose he didn’t think he’d got his 
money’s worth unless he read them a little. So he 
did — a very little. But he read enough to get as far 
in c David Copperfield’ as ‘ Barkis is willin’,’ and 
immediately he fastened upon that as the name for 
his new pet.” 


REALISM 


115 


“ What about the portrait, the animal portrait by 
Mr. D'Auber Mudd?" inquired Foster with a laugh. 

“ I'm coming to that. Mr. Dennis induced 
D'Auber Mudd to give up his studio while he was 
working on the portrait and bring his brushes right 
to the house and do the work there. It took him just 
three days, and Mr. Dennis tried to get him to dis- 
count his bill because the artist saved his rent and 
luncheons while he was there. But the painter man 
wouldn't do it." 

“ Too bad," said Will sympathetically. 

“No, only one. That is, only one that was real 
bad. Well, the animal portrait at last was all com- 
pleted, and Mr. Dennis had it placed on an easel in 
his own room which he called his c den.' I wish you 
could see it." 

“Which, the den or the animal portrait?" 
demanded Foster. 

“ Both. I was speaking of the ‘ den,' but I really 
mean the portrait of Barkis." 

“ Speaking likeness ? " inquired Will. 

“ More than that. It was realism raised to the 
nth power. Why, do you know, the very first time 
the door was opened into the ‘ den ' after the animal 
portrait had been put in place on the easel, Mr. 
Dennis' pet cat came into the room, and what do you 
suppose took place ? " 

“ I can't imagine. Don't keep me in this suspense ! 
Tell me ! Tell me now ! " said Will. 

“ Well, sir, the cat gave one look at the animal por- 


116 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


trait and then bolted straight through the plate-glass 
window into the street, and never came back. Cost 
Mr. Dennis twenty-nine dollars and sixty-seven cents 
to have a new one put in its place, but he said he 
didn’t begrudge a cent o’ it, not a cent, for it just 
proved that he’d got his money’s worth out o’ D’Auber 
Mudd’s animal portrait.” 

“ Is that all ? ” inquired Foster softly. 

“ No, it isn’t all ! When Mr. Dennis turned back 
into the room what do you suppose had happened to 
the animal portrait ? ” 

“ Can’t imagine,” said Will. 

“Why, the hair — I mean the hair in the pic- 
ture ” 

“Was there hair in it? He must have had poor 
brushes, this D’Auber Mudd, to leave some of them 
right on the canvas,” said Foster. 

“ I mean,” said Miller slowly, “ I mean the 
painted hair ” 

“ Did he paint the dog’s hair ? ” said Will. 

“No, he didn’t paint the dog’s hair. He painted 
the picture. But what I was about to say was that 
when Mr. Dennis turned back into the room, after the 
cat had been so frightened, and looked at the animal 
portrait, the pictured hair of the pictured dog was 
standing straight up on the back of the animal por- 
trait. Talk about art! Talk about realism in art! 
I don’t guess the best artist Greece ever had could 
touch this work of D’Auber Mudd, and he’s one of 
‘ we moderns,’ as Mr. Dennis expresses it.” 


REALISM 


117 


There was a brief silence when Miller concluded, 
and the three companions were near the place they 
were seeking. As they mounted the steps, Will Phelps 
stopped for a moment and said, “ Say, Miller, the old 
Greeks were the greatest liars that ever lived, weren’t 
they ? ” 

“ They were very successful at it,” assented Miller. 

“ Could they beat the ‘ moderns ’ ? ” 

“ I cannot say.” 

“ I can,” retorted Will quietly. “ Perhaps they did 
beat us in poetry and art, but for artistic and monu- 
mental lying they simply were outclassed. Miller, the 
palm belongs to you. You can beat the world.” 

“ Thank you.” 

“ You’re welcome.” 

With a laugh the three classmates bounded up the 
stairway and in a moment burst into Miller’s room. 
The two visitors seated themselves in the easiest of the 
chairs, while Miller began to search for the letter from 
Alden. An expression of perplexity on his face deep- 
ened into one of more serious import, when at last he 
turned and said, “ Fellows, the letter is gone.” 

“ Gone ? ” demanded Will, sitting quickly erect. 

“Yes, it’s gone. And that isn’t the worst of it, 
either, for there are some other things gone too.” 


CHAPTER XII 

BUTTER OF KINE 

“ ITT HAT do you mean?” demanded Phelps, leap- 

YY ing to his feet and quickly approaching his 
classmate’s side. 

“ J ust what I say. The letter from Alden is gone.” 

“ Feel in your pockets. You may have left it 
there.” 

“I didn’t. I left it right in this drawer. And 
there was another envelope right under it that had a 
ten-dollar bill in it. That’s gone too ! ” 

Foster had also approached his friends by this time, 
and the statement of Miller made both silent for a 
moment. 

“ That’s pretty serious business, Miller,” said Will 
at last. “ Are you sure ? ” 

“ Yes. I left the two letters here together. The 
one with money in it I had just received from home. 
I put them in the same place.” 

“ You ought to have locked the drawers,” suggested 
Foster. 

“ Foster Bennett,” retorted Miller sharply, “ I’ve 
lived in this wicked world for nineteen years seven 
months and thirteen days. I’ve been guilty of many 
sins, but I never yet stooped so low as to say to any- 
body yet, ‘ I told you so.’ No, sir. Not much!” 

118 


BUTTER OF KINE 


119 


Foster laughed as he replied, “That's all right, 
Miller. But I don’t think it’s right to leave our doors 
and desks unlocked the way we do. And we all do it, 
you understand.” 

“ Why isn’t it right, I’d like to know ? ” demanded 
Miller. 

“ Well, it’s too much like putting temptation in the 
way of some fellow.” 

“ I guess this chap that took my money and the 
letter from Alden put himself in the way, all right. 
I didn’t lead him into it. Think I’d do that with the 
last X I had in the world? Ah, my child, you don’t 
know me.” 

Miller’s face was woebegone, and Foster laughed 
again. “ Any idea who took it ? ” he inquired. 

“ Not to speak of. It’ll come out, though.” 

“What can we do about it now?” inquired Will 
seriously. 

“Nothing.” 

“But what about the letter from Alden?” 

“I can reply to that all right. I remember what 
was in the letter. They wanted a debate here the 
night before our football game.” 

“ You know the fellow that wrote it ? ” 

“ Yes. We can call a meeting of the college just the 
same and decide what we’ll do. I’ll post a notice to- 
night. And, fellows, don’t say anything about the 
loss of the letter or the money, either. We’ll make a 
still-hunt for the fellow, and we’ll find him too, before 
many moons. Wait a minute and Fll write three 


120 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


notices and you can post them on the bulletin boards 
on your way back to your rooms.” 

" All right,” laughed Will. " You’re a good gen- 
eral, anyway, Miller, even if you can’t keep your 
letters or your money.” 

"I am, am I? Well, I suppose it must be so 
since you say it is so.” 

" Of course. A good general always gets the work 
out of his men.” 

"Ah, yes, I see,” responded Miller as he seated 
himself at his desk and rapidly wrote the three notices 
which were designed to call a meeting of the student 
body to consider the challenge of Alden for a debate 
on the evening preceding the annual football game 
between the two rival colleges. 

As soon as the notices were ready, Will and Foster 
took them and at once departed. On their way back 
to their room they stopped and posted one of the three 
on the bulletin board in Newcomb Hall, one of the 
largest of the recitation buildings, and then made 
their way across the campus to the board which was 
in front of the college chapel. 

"Hello! what’s this?” said Will as he stopped for 
a moment before the board. 

"What’s what?” 

" These circulars,” replied Will as he tore one loose 
from the pile that was hanging from the bulletin 
board. " Come over here and we’ll see what it is,” he 
added as he led the way to the adjacent street-light. 

Standing within the light, Will held up the circu- 


BUTTER OF KINE 


121 


lar and Foster peered over his shoulder and both boys 
eagerly read the printed slip. 

ANNOUNCEMENT ! 

Butter of Kine and Honey of Hymettus! 

Being sincerely desirous of introducing into modern life the 
perfection of all that was known to the ancient Greeks I have 
procured, at great expense and with infinite pains, samples of 
Butter of Kine and Honey of Hymettus which I will distribute 
among the worthy people of this and adjacent towns at a price 
which will involve a great financial loss to myself. 

The supply is large but nevertheless is somewhat limited, so 
that I shall be unable to bestow upon any one purchaser more 
than two pounds of the Butter of Kine and one pound of the 
Honey of Hymettus. As long as the supply lasts it is all yours 
under the before-mentioned condition of sale, and the price paid, 
which will be spot cash ! 

No Trust or I Bust ! 

While the supply lasts the price for the Butter of Kine will be 
15 cents per pound and for the Honey of Hymettus 16§ cents per 
pound. Owing to the extremely low price, patrons must come 
prepared to take their purchases away with them. 

No Free Delivery ! 

Every man served in the order of his coming. 

No Favorites! No Favoritism! 

All will be treated exactly alike ! First come, first served ! 

Sale to begin at Nine o’clock a. m., sharp ! 

Sale to continue until Eleven o’clock a. m., sharp ! 

Saturday, October 15th! 

As the facilities for service at my home are somewhat restricted 
and I wish to deal courteously with all, it is especially requested 
that purchasers will apply at the front door ! 

Apply at the Front Door! 

Get in line! Come early but not often! The supply will 
quickly be exhausted ! Positively the only sale ! Remember the 
price ! Terms, cash. No trust ! 

Corner of Park Street and Jackson Road, Winthrop. 

“What in the world is this?” demanded Foster 
when he had read the circular, “ What do you make 
of it, Will?” 


122 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ That’s where Splinter lives, corner of Park Street 
and Jackson Road.” 

“ Yes. You don’t think for a minute that he wrote 
it, do you?” 

“ Hardly,” laughed Will. “ The composition 
wouldn’t be very flattering to him.” 

“ I should say not. But what is it ? ” 

“ Probably some freshman joke on Splinter.” 

“ You think he has any honey and butter ? ” 

Will laughed as he thrust the circular into his 
pocket and said, “ It isn’t anything but a ‘ grind ’ on 
the poor old fellow. That’s all there is to it.” 

“ He’ll never see it.” 

“ No, he won’t know anything about it.” 

On the following morning, however, which was 
Saturday, Will, having no recitations for the first 
hour following the services in the chapel, decided to 
walk down Park Street and discover if anything more 
than a mere printed prank had been implied in the 
circular. He had several times thought of the matter, 
but could not believe there was anything in it 
beyond the farcical announcement which might bring 
a smile to the face of any one who might chance to see 
it. If he had really believed there was anything more 
in the matter, as president of the junior class and a 
member of the committee on the honor system, he 
assured himself he would be in duty bound to inter- 
fere, but there was nothing to be feared he declared to 
himself again and again. It was merely a freshman 
prank, and like all such actions, probably inane. 


BUTTER OF KINE 123 

though he had himself laughed when he had read the 
bombastic proclamation. 

“ Good morning, Mr. Phelps.” 

Will turned about at the salute and beheld young 
Mott swiftly approaching him. Somehow the coming 
of the freshman was unwelcome to Will, but he 
restrained his irritation and said pleasantly, “ Hello, 
Mott. Why aren’t you in your classroom ? ” 

“ Haven’t any recitation this period. Going for a 
walk, Mr. Phelps ? May I go with you ? ” 

As Mott had not waited for a response, there was 
nothing to be said, and there was no surprise manifest 
when Will turned into Park Street, and, accompanied 
by his freshman companion, at last came within sight 
of the house of the professor of Greek. 

“ There must be a fire there, Mr. Phelps ! ” 
exclaimed Mott excitedly when the professor’s home 
could be seen. "Just see the crowd ! Come on ! We 
can help ! It must be a fire ! J ust look at the 
crowd ! ” 

Without waiting for a reply, Mott had darted 
forward and was running swiftly toward the pro- 
fessor’s house, but Will Phelps had stopped in blank 
amazement and was staring at the sight before him. 
The yard appeared to be filled with people. They 
surged up the steps and were clambering about the 
piazza of the house. The crowd overflowed into the 
street, and as Will turned and looked about him he 
could see that people were coming from every direc- 
tion. Farmers were shouting to their horses and 


124 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


driving swiftly along the country roads. Even the 
small boy was not to be denied his rights, and he too 
was in evidence wherever Will looked. 

His first feeling of amazement gave place to one of 
amusement, and this in turn was quickly followed by 
a feeling of indignation. Personally he had never 
been drawn to the professor of Greek, and the man’s 
childlike simplicity, combined as it was with a dogged 
obstinacy, had already been a source, as we know , 1 
of trouble to him. But when he thought of the surg- 
ing crowd and the perplexed and doubtless helpless 
man before it, he instantly began to run, and soon had 
forced his way into the noisy assembly in the yard and 
speedily gained a position in the front ranks, where 
he could see what was occurring on the piazza. 

In front of the door the professor himself was 
standing, his scanty hair disheveled, his eyes shining 
with excitement, and vainly endeavoring to pacify a 
huge, red-faced Irishwoman, who, with her bonnet 
awry and her red shawl still clinging to her form, 
though in part it trailed upon the floor, was loudly 
demanding that she should receive her share of the 
butter and honey. 

“But — but — but — my dear woman,” feebly pro- 
tested the professor, “ I — I haven’t any butter for 
sale.” 

“ Bed ad ! An’ phwat for did yez say so for, thin ? ” 
demanded the excited woman, brandishing in the face 
of the distracted man a copy of the circular. 


1 See “Winning His ‘W.’ ” 



••‘But — but— but— my dear woman, . . . 
I haven’t any butter for sale.’ ” 

Page 124. 






BUTTER OF KINE 


125 


“ But — but — but, my good — my good woman, I 
didn’t say so. There’s some mistake. I — I — never 
sold a pound of butter in all my life.” 

“ Indade ! An’ isn’t this the corner o’ Park Strate ? 
Till me that, mon ! ” 

“ It is. It is, indeed,” acknowledged the professor. 

“An’ isn’t that Jackson Road?” she demanded, 
pointing, as she spoke, at the adjacent road that 
formed the corner upon which the professor’s house 
stood. 

“ It is. It certainly is. But — but — my good 
woman ” 

“ An’ isn’t that what the paper do be afther 
sayin’?” she demanded noisily, placing a huge red 
finger upon the line at the end of the circular and 
holding it triumphantly before the professor’s face. 

“ Yes, yes, yes. It does say so. But dear me. My 
good — my good woman, I only wish it was in my 
power to give you some of the honey of Hymettus. I 
was once in Athens and I distinctly recall ” 

“ Tut ! tut ! mon ! It isn’t to hear about yer visitin’ 
th’ haythen cities that I’ve left me wash-toob an’ come 
up here this marnin’. Will yer honor be afther tellin’ 
me loike if ye intend to live up t’ yer word or not? 
It’s that new kind of butter an’ a sip o’ that honey 
I’m wantin’. Pat, he says, ‘ Give th’ mon his money 
an’ get yer goods.’ Yis, sir, them’s his very words jist 
as soon as he do be gettin’ yer letter from th’ post 
office.” 

“ Yes, yes. Precisely so. But — but — but, my good 


126 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


woman, I did not write your husband. I have had no 
correspondence with your husband. Patrick, I 
fawncy his name must be.” 

“Ye can fawncy th’ name or not, but it’s a good 
name ! One o’ the best ! ” retorted the woman 
warmly. 

“ Yes, yes. I was not casting any reflections upon 
his name. No. Not in the slightest. Not in the 
least. I was merely trying to explain that I had not 
had any correspondence with him on the subiect of 
butter.” 

“ Ye didn’t? Thin tell me, mon, how came it that 
he got yer letter out o’ th’ post office, will ye ? I seen 
him get th’ letter wid me own eyes.” 


CHAPTER XIII 

WILI/S ASSISTANCE 


— I — REITERATE my statement/ 5 stammered 

the professor. “ I — I 55 

“ I don’t care what yez do if ye’ll be afther 
sillin’ me th’ butter.” 

“ I was about to say that I had never to the best of 
my recollection ever sent any epistolary communica- 
tion to your worthy husband.” 

“ How, thin, did he get yer letter ? ” demanded the 
excited woman. “ Look at all these poor souls here, 
will yez ! ” she shouted as she pointed at the assembly 
in the yard. “ It’s no way for a foine gintleman, the 
loike of yez, to be afther treatin’ thim.” 

A murmur of applause arose from those who were 
standing nearest the speakers, and baskets were waved 
in the air in token of approval. The helpless pro- 
fessor was staring blankly at the crowd, among which 
a goodly number of the college boys could now be 
seen, and who, it is to be feared, were not doing all 
that lay within their power to soothe the feelings of 
the assembled people. 

Will Phelps had at first been unable to restrain his 
delight, and had laughed aloud at the ludicrous sight. 
The expression upon Mott’s face — for the young 
freshman had been at the junior’s side throughout the 

127 


128 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


interview — had been that of one who was unable to 
understand what it all meant. He had gazed at the 
assembly and then at the perplexed and helpless pro- 
fessor of Greek as if he was sympathizing with all 
who were concerned, but not a smile had appeared on 
his countenance. His lamb-like appearance of inno- 
cence had done much to arouse Will, who at last 
forced his way up the steps to the professor’s side, and 
turning, faced the assembly. 

“ My friends,” he said quietly, “ you have all been 
the victims of some joker, and probably a freshman 
joker at that.” He glanced at Mott as he spoke, for 
the freshman was gazing up into his face as if he still 
was unable to comprehend what the excitement was 
all about. “ The sooner you go home the better it will 
be for you all and the less will be said. I am certain 
the professor has had nothing to do with this. There 
is no butter for sale here and no honey. He feels as 
badly about the mistake as you do, but he has 
explained his part, or rather his lack of any part, in 
this prank, and there is nothing more for him to do. 
He regrets the annoyance to which you all have been 
subjected and begs that you will now leave.” 

Will never knew how it was that he had taken upon 
himself the place of spokesman, but the utter help- 
lessness of the childlike professor and the insistence 
of the crowd at last had so aroused him that, hardly 
aware of what he was doing, he had advanced to the 
aid of the man. 

His words at first had been received by the 


will's assistance 


129 


gathering in blank and silent astonishment, but this 
feeling soon gave place to a look of chagrin, and 
before he had concluded he could see that many were 
slinking away as if their supreme desire was to be 
found anywhere except in the midst of the dupes of 
the freshman prank. 

Not all, however, departed, and the woman who had 
been the spokesman still was holding her ground. 
Turning directly to her, Will said, for the professor 
had ceased to speak when the junior had advanced to 
the piazza, “ There's nothing more to be said, 
madam. There isn't any butter or honey for sale 
here." 

“ What for did he say there was, thin ? " 

“ But he didn't say so." 

“ Faith ! an' I have th’ letter ! " she shouted as she 
held the epistle before her. 

“ Let me see it, if you please." 

The “ letter " was a circular exactly like the one he 
himself had torn from the bulletin board, but it had 
been folded and placed in an envelope directed to Mr. 
Patrick Hennessy. Will instantly was aware that the 
perpetrators of the prank had probably sent hundreds 
of similar letters, and the presence of so many people 
in the professor's yard was explained. “ That isn't a 
letter!" he said. “ That's only a printed circular 
like a good many others that were sent through the 
mails. It's some joke. We all regret it " 

“ Yez seem t' be reconciled yerself ! It's foine 
work for the loikes o' yez to take a lady from her toob 

i 


130 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


an’ be afther wastin’ th’ mornin’. Faith ! ’tis a foine 
bit o’ work ! Fm thinkin’ Pat may have a word wid 
yez, whin I till him o’ the way ye’ve trated me.” 

“ We are all sorry for it, Mrs. Hennessy.” 

“ Faith ! an’ I think ye’ll be more sorry whin Pat 
comes to see yez ! ” muttered the angry woman as, 
grasping her basket firmly, she turned about and 
started from the yard, unmindful of the greetings of 
the college boys who had remained upon the premises. 

“ They’re going now, professor. I think we’d bet- 
ter go into the house,” suggested Will. The professor 
at once yielded, and Will entered the house with him. 

“ It’s too bad, professor. I’m very sorry you have 
been put to all this annoyance.” 

“It is inexplicable! I am unable to comprehend 
what this assemblage portends.” 

“ It was a prank, that’s all.” 

“ But that was quite sufficient ! ” retorted the man, 
a faint tinge of red appearing on his cheeks as he 
spoke. His anger somehow reminded Will of the 
futile rage of a canary bird that scolded and fluttered 
helplessly about in its cage. “ Personally I look upon 
it as an outrage. It is a reflection upon the dignity of 
my position. It must and it shall be atoned for ! Mr. 
Phelps, I shall look to you to see that the guilty mis- 
creants are brought to justice.” 

“Look to me!” exclaimed Will aghast. “You 
mustn’t do that, professor ! ” 

“ But I shall do so, nevertheless. You were the one 
who explained it all. You knew what the perpetra- 


will’s assistance 


131 


tion really was. You elucidated the causes and dis- 
persed the — the assembly, which, to say the least, was 
somewhat unique in its prevailing characteristics and 
somewhat homogeneous in its composition.” The 
professor shuddered as he recalled the anger of Mrs. 
Hennessy. “ They seemed to infer that you were 
implicated to a certain extent in the onslaught.” 

“ Do you mean that you think I had something to 
do with this ? ” demanded Will. 

“Ah, my young friend, I can by the process of 
ratiocination and induction infer at least that you 
were not entirely devoid of knowledge. Who was it 
that explained to the assembly how it had come to 
pass that apparently I had been in correspondence 
with Patrick Hennessy on the subject of the honey 
of Hymettus? Who was it that knew the origin of 
the mysterious attack? Ah, my young friend, in 
inductive logic there is nothing to be compared with 
the methods employed by Socrates and Plato. It is 
true that Locke assumed ” 

“ But, professor,” interrupted Will sharply, for he 
was angry at the implied insinuation, “you don’t 
really mean to say, do you, that you think I had any- 
thing to do with this ? ” 

The professor smiled blandly, but the dogged 
expression upon his countenance was not in the least 
changed. “ You know as to that as well as I, Mr. 
Phelps. Indeed, I may say you understand even bet- 
ter than I. Your knowledge is experimental, while 
mine is inferential. You will excuse me, Mr. Phelps. 


132 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


I have some duties that will permit no further delay. 
I shall look to you to see that these dastardly culprits 
are brought to justice. Ahem ! Do you fawncy, Mr. 
Phelps that — ah — that rumors and reports of this — 
this escapade will find their way into the columns of 
the press ? ” 

“ I can’t say/’ replied Will shortly. “ Good morn- 
ing, professor!” 

“ Good morning, sir ! Good morning ! Ah, just a 
word, Mr. Phelps. If you choose to report to me more 
in detail as to this matter before — ah — before let us 
say seven o’clock to-morrow evening, it is possible, 
yes, I may say it is quite probable that I shall not 
bring up the matter before the meeting of the faculty. 
Otherwise ” 

Will Phelps was too angry to listen to more, and 
was down the steps of the piazza before the professor 
had ceased speaking. He was so indignant that he 
was unaware that any one was on the street, and when 
young Mott, who evidently had been waiting for the 
junior’s reappearance, joined him, Will did not speak. 

“Too bad for Splinter wasn’t it, Mr. Phelps?” 
said Mott demurely. 

“ Look here, Mott ! ” said Will sharpty, stopping 
for a moment as he spoke and looking keenly at the 
freshman, “do you know that Splinter declares he 
knows who is at the bottom of all this ? ” 

“ Does he ? I pity the poor chaps, then,” said Mott 
innocently. 

“ He says I’m one of them.” 


will's assistance 


133 


"You? You, Mr. Phelps?” 

" That’s what he says.” 

" That’s too bad. What will you do about it, Mr. 
Phelps?” 

" I don’t know. I haven’t decided yet. He says if 
I don’t report before seven o’clock to-morrow evening 
he’ll take my name before the faculty meeting.” 

" That would be too bad, Mr. Phelps. Of course, it 
wouldn’t amount to anything, for the whole college 
knows you didn’t have anything to do with it.” 

" That remains to be seen.” 

"No, it doesn’t. No one will believe it besides 
Splinter.” 

" Mott, how many of those circulars were sent out 
by mail ? ” suddenly demanded Will. 

"How should I know, Mr. Phelps?” responded 
Mott meekly. 

" Answer my question ! ” 

"Why, I heard this morning that four hundred 
were.” 

" Sent to all the towns around, as well as to Win- 
throp ? ” 

" That’s what I heard.” 

" Oh, you did ! ” Will laughed, for the absurdity of 
the prank had returned in his thoughts. " Mott,” he 
added, " what am I going to do with you ? ” 

"Lend me five dollars, Mr. Phelps,” responded 
Mott promptly. 

"What for?” 

" Because I need it. I want to pay some bills.” 


134 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ But you’d owe me five dollars. You might as 
well owe for the bills as to owe me. You’d be in debt 
just the same.” 

“Not long. I’ll pay you just as soon as I hear 
from home.” 

“ Which will be when? ” laughed Will as he handed 
a bank-note to the freshman. 

“Next week,” responded Mott glibly, as he thrust 
the money into his pocket. “ Something strange 
about the wings that riches are said to have, isn’t 
there, Mr. Phelps?” 

“ I don’t know. They seem to fly away all right.” 

“ That’s it. That’s just what I mean. The wings 
always seem to be for flying away. Now you’d think 
if money really had wings that sometimes it would 
fly toward you. But it never does,” he added mourn- 
fully. “ It’s always in one direction and that’s from 
you.” 

“ This five-dollar bill seemed to come toward you, 
didn’t it?” 

“ You just watch it ! It’ll be gone so soon I won’t 
know I’ve had it. Why, yesterday I had a ten-dollar 
bill that I never thought of having. But it wasn’t 

fairly in my hands before T before it was gone,” 

Mott hastily corrected himself. 

Will Phelps turned sharply upon his companion 
at the words. Miller’s loss of a ten-dollar bill from 
his desk on the preceding day suddenly occurred to 
him, and the freshman’s words had brought the fact 
to his mind in a manner that was startling. 


will’s assistance 


135 


“ Where did you get the ten dollars from, Mott ? ” 
he inquired quietly. 

“ What do you want to know that for, Mr. 
Phelps?” Mott’s manner had not changed, but to 
his troubled friend it seemed as if the question had 
startled him. 

“ Why, ten-dollar bills aren’t picked up every day,” 
Will replied, striving to speak as if the matter was a 
casual one. “ Speaking about riches having wings,” he 
added, “ I know a fellow that — that lost ten dollars 
yesterday.” 

“ Where ? Where, Mr. Phelps ? ” said the freshman 
quickly. “ I’ll go and look for it right away. Per- 
haps if I can find it I’ll be able to pay you back before 
I get money from home.” 

“ It wouldn’t be yours if you should find it.” 

"It wouldn’t? Let me get my hands on it and 
see ! ” 

Will laughed, though a trifle uneasily, and as he 
turned away from his companion to go to his rooms 
he was troubled far more than he cared to acknowl- 
edge even to himself. Was it possible that there could 
be any connection between Mott’s “ discovery ” of a 
ten-dollar bill and Miller’s loss ? That the freshman 
was implicated and even a leading spirit in every 
prank his class had thus far played in college he was 
fully convinced. Mott was mischievous, a trouble- 
some spirit, not inclined to study, and ready to be a 
leader in any escapade, he knew, but was there a 
defect in him so great as to indicate he might be 


136 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


guilty of worse things? It was difficult for Will to 
believe it, and yet the fact of Miller’s loss and Mott’s 
gain was a coincidence if nothing more. And Will 
Phelps was seriously troubled. 

When he entered his rooms he discovered that 
Foster was not there, and it was with something of a 
feeling of relief that he seated himself at his desk to 
prepare for a recitation in chemistry that came at 
twelve o’clock. His thoughts were wandering, how- 
ever, and when a half-hour had elapsed he suddenly 
arose and said aloud, “ I’ll do it ! ” 

Seizing his cap from the table he ran hastily from 
the room and soon was walking swiftly down the 
street. 


CHAPTER XIV 


THE RESULT OF AN INTERVIEW 

W ILL PHELPS did not stop until he had turned 
into the yard of the house in which Doctor 
Brown lived and had mounted the steps of the 
rambling piazza and vigorously pushed the button to 
announce his presence. Several times before this he 
had visited the young professor and greatly enjoyed 
his interviews with the man who, in spite of his 
boyish appearance, had at the very beginning of his 
work commanded the respect and enthusiastic support 
of the entire student body. And as for the work in his 
classroom, Will had found it the most enjoyable of all 
his studies thus far in his college course. The very 
fact that Doctor Brown was a man with whom it was 
impossible to shirk had increased the enjoyment and 
enlarged the respect of all who had “ elected ” history, 
for it was as true in Winthrop as it is everywhere that 
students only love the teacher whom they can respect, 
and that there was a very genuine and general respect 
for the young professor who had lately joined the 
college faculty, the fact that all were compelled to 
work hard for him bore ample evidence. 

In a brief time Will was admitted into Doctor 
Brown’s study, and despite the evident task in which 
the professor was busied the junior was warmly wel- 

137 


138 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


corned. “ I’m almost afraid I’m making a nuisance of 
myself/’ began Will as he accepted the proffered seat, 
“ I come here so often.” 

“ That’s what I’m here for,” replied the young pro- 
fessor pleasantly. 

“ To have me make a nuisance of myself ? ” laughed 
Will. 

“That is not the best way in which to put it. I 
look upon myself as one whose first business is to get 
himself in touch with the real life of the students 
here. I must help them, whatever I may teach. Oh, 
of course,” he added lightly, “ I don’t mean to say 
that the work of the classroom is not important and 
that I shall not place a proper insistence upon that.” 

“ You don’t need to say so,” responded Will. “ The 
fellows all say you are about the hardest 9 man on the 
faculty. But they like it. They all like it,” he added 
hastily in some confusion. 

“ Thank you ! ” replied Doctor Brown with a laugh. 

“ Oh, that isn’t all they say,” Will hastened to add. 
“ They know you are interested in them and they like 
you all the better, because you just make them do 
their work too. But they think you are something 
more than a teacher. They think you are a man.” 
Will’s enthusiasm, which was ever keen over anything 
that aroused him, had led him to speak warmly, but 
he was instantly fearful he had said too much. Would 
the young professor suspect him of “boot-licking,” 
which in the vocabulary of the college boys was well- 
nigh the most heinous of all offences ? 


THE RESULT OF AN INTERVIEW 


139 


He was relieved when Doctor Brown said quietly, 
“ Thank you, Phelps. Your words have done me 
good. It isn’t too often we have encouragement given 
us. The task of holding a fellow up to the mark and 
making him do the best there is in him is not always 
a pleasant one, and yet it is what we are here for and 
what will be appreciated afterwards, if it is not now.” 

“ That’s so, doctor ! That’s perfectly true ! ” Will 
did not perceive the trace of a smile that lurked in the 
corners of the mouth of the young professor, and he 
w~ent on eagerly. “ How am I doing in my work in 
history?” he inquired. 

“ Quite well. You can do better,” replied the pro- 
fessor quietly. 

Will’s heart sank, for he had believed himself to be 
doing exceptionally well in the work of which Doctor 
Brown had charge. There had even been before him 
a vision of the prize in history, and this moderate 
praise of the man was somewhat chilling in its effect. 
He felt even a slight tinge of resentment, for he him- 
self was aware of how much more time and labor he 
had been devoting to this study than ever before he 
had given to any. 

“ I’m working pretty hard,” he said with an uneasy 
laugh. “ Tell me what I can do more.” 

“ Your work, Phelps, is of a fair grade, but it lacks 
in grip — in thoroughness. You easily grasp the essen- 
tial points, but you fail to fill in the details. Your 
skeleton is all right, if I may use the figure, but you 
don’t cover it well or clothe it. Even some of the 


140 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


bones are not well articulated. The bones themselves 
may be as they should, but you want them properly 
connected and working in harmony. See what I 
mean ? ” 

“ I think I do. My worst fault has always been in 
sliding over things.” 

“ Half the battle is in knowing the weak spots — 
and correcting them.” 

“ Thank you, doctor. Honestly your words weren’t 
what I wanted, but I know they’re what I needed.” 

Doctor Brown smiled, but did not respond. His 
heart went out strongly to this impulsive, warm-souled 
young junior, and he resolved that he would do his 
utmost to develop the good traits he possessed in such 
abundance — at least in promise. 

“I came down here, doctor, to ask your advice 
about two things.” 

“Yes?” 

“ The first is about a poem that has been handed 
me for the ‘ Lit.’ You know I’m one of the editors,” 
he added with a smile. “ May I read it to you ? I’d 
like to have your opinion of it.” 

“ Certainly. Read it. I am interested.” 

“ Perhaps you are wise to say that before I begin,” 
laughed Will consciously. “You may not say so 
when I’m done. But I want your judgment.” And 
Will Phelps began to read, striving meanwhile to 
appear as unconscious as possible : 

“Thou rapid, rounded, rolling orb 
Whose beams celestial ” 


THE RESULT OF AN INTERVIEW 


141 


When the reading was ended he turned eagerly to 
the professor and said, “What do you think of it, 
doctor ? ” 

“ Why do you ask my opinion, Phelps ? ” 

“ Because I want it.” Will was so eager that he 
failed to see the expression of sjunpathy in the young 
professor’s eyes. 

“ It doesn’t amount to anything, Phelps. It’s 
bombast. The wording is bigger than the thought. 
Whoever wrote it was thinking more of how he should 
say it than of what he wanted to say.” 

“ Clothes are important, aren’t they ? ” inquired 
Will as he turned away his face so that the professor 
might not see that his cheeks were scarlet. 

“ Yes, but the man is of more importance than his 
clothes. Mere clothing you can hang on a clothes- 
horse or a dummy. That’s what this article has 
done.” 

“ I wrote it, doctor,” said Will quickly. 

“ So I suspected,” replied the professor kindly. 

“ ITow did you know ? What made you think so ? ” 

“ Several things.” 

“ And you think it’s all stuff ? ” 

“ I should not publish it.” 

“You don’t think it’s worth anything?” Will’s 
heart was like lead and he was almost inclined to be 
angry. 

“ To be frank, Phelps, it reminds me of a ‘ poem ’ 
I m} r self wrote when I was just about your age. You 
see it is this way. When w^e begin to have our eyes 


142 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


opened there are a good many things we find are won- 
derful in this world and life of ours — or even this 
universe, I might say, for you have not limited your 
thought to such a little insignificant affair as the 
earth. Naturally we are impressed by what we see 
and feel, and just as naturally think it is all new. It 
is new to us, but when we go on a little further we 
discover to our amazement sometimes that what we 
thought was so new was as old as humanity and has 
been much better expressed. If you will read Ossian, 
for example ” 

“ I have read him,” interrupted Will quickly, “ but 
I don't see what the use is in anybody trying to do 
anything, then. Somebody else has already done it 
before him, and as you say much better probably than 
he can do it.” 

“ Not quite so bad as that, Phelps. Every one has 
his own life to live and that is always interesting — to 
him anyway. But Fd put that poem away for a year 
or two. The world will get over its disappointment in 
not seeing it, and meanwhile try your hand at some 
lighter subject. Take something you yourself have 
experienced or seen or known and that others have 
not seen. The most commonplace events or experi- 
ences of your life will be your best themes — for a 
while.” 

Will endeavored to appear convinced, but he was 
not one who easily gave up, and despite the advice of 
the man whom he so thoroughly respected he sud- 
denly decided what he would do with his poem. But 


THE RESULT OF AN INTERVIEW 


143 


he did not explain to Doctor Brown. His heart was 
somewhat heavy, but striving not to appear cast down 
by the reception his first request had met, he said, 
“ There's another matter, doctor, I want your advice 
about." 

“ What’s that?" 

“ There’s a freshman who has become my ‘ append- 
age,’ my room-mate calls him, because he’s always 
hanging on to me. I like the fellow, but he’s the 
most perplexing problem I’ve struck yet." 

“ In what way ? " 

“ There isn’t a thing in the way of pranks going on 
in which he isn’t the ringleader. I don’t know posi- 
tively, but I suspect he could explain the ice cream 
escapade at the time of the president’s reception." 

The young professor’s face clouded slightly, but 
he did not speak. 

“ Then he knows a good deal about this c rig ’ that 
has just been worked on the Greek professor." 

“ What is that ? I have not heard of it." 

“ Why, I thought everybody in college knew of it. 
It was this way," and Will went on to relate the story 
of the mob that had besieged the professor for “ but- 
ter of kine and honey of Hymettus." 

When Will had ended his story Doctor Brown 
threw back his head and laughed long and loudly, 
while Will himself forgot his own chagrin for a 
moment as he shared in the young professor’s delight. 

“ The fellow must be repressed, but there’s all the 
more reason for doing something for him. Of course 


144 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


it was wrong for him to do what he did, but — well, 
there are some things I can’t explain, Phelps. I will 
say, however, that the professor in Greek reported in 
the last meeting of the faculty that he was seriously 
concerned about one of the freshmen. He had not 
done his work and he feared he was not inclined to do 
it. Indeed, this fellow — Mott I think his name 


“ Was it Mott? ” inquired Will quickly. 

“ Yes, I am positive it was,” replied Doctor Brown, 
smiling as he perceived that his own suspicions were 
confirmed. “ But the professor declared that he 
must have misjudged the fellow, for he came down 
to his house the other evening and explained that the 
reason why he was not doing better was because he 
was suffering from follicular tonsilitis. The pro- 
fessor was quite concerned about it and wanted advice 
as to whether he himself ought not to write the young 
man’s parents or have him sent at once to the 
infirmary. I’m giving you secrets of the star cham- 
ber, Phelps, but I am confident they will go no 
further.” 

“ They won’t, doctor. But I didn’t know Mott had 
any such trouble as that. He never told me of it.” 

“ Quite likely,” said the young professor dryly, 
“ but I don’t think you need be alarmed about it. 
Even the professor was relieved when one of the 
faculty informed him that follicular tonsilitis was the 
medical term for hiccoughs and there was a possi- 
bility that it had been superinduced by intoxication.” 


THE RESULT OF AN INTERVIEW 


145 


Both Will and the professor laughed heartily, and 
then the latter said, “ Why did you come to me with 
this, Phelps ? ” 

“Why, you see I didn’t know just what to do. 
I’m interested in the chap a good deal more than I 
thought I should be ; but you see I’m the representa- 
tive of our class on the committee on the honor sys- 
tem, and I don’t know as I have any right to let these 
things go by.” 

For a moment the young professor’s face was 
serious and then he said, “ Phelps, did you ever hear 
what was said to be the most impressive fact in the 
life of Yon Moltke?” 

“ I never did. What was it ? ” 

“It was reported that he could be silent in seven 
languages.” 

“ You don’t think I ought to do anything about it, 
then ? ” said Will, a slight feeling of resentment rising 
in his heart at the implied rebuke. 

“ Not at all. Not at all. On the contrary, there is 
the greater reason for you to do more. But the 
special task of the committee is to act upon cases 
referred to it, is it not ? ” 

“Yes, sir.” 

“You are not to look up cases?” 

“ No, sir.” 

“ Then for the present at least let the faculty look 
after it. Of course, after your interview I shall not 
feel at liberty to refer to the matter. Is there any- 
thing with Mott worse than what you have told me ? ” 

K 


146 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ I don’t know. Sometimes I’m afraid there is.” 

“ Don’t speak of it even to him until you are cer- 
tain. But the very fact that he is drawn to you as he 
is, is the best of reasons why you should do your best 
for him.” 

“ I don’t know just what to do.” 

“ Keep on and you will soon find out. And don’t 
hesitate to let me know if I can be of the slightest 
assistance.” 

Will departed at the hint, and going directly to the 
post office secured a large envelope in which he placed 
the poem on the “ rapid, rolling, rounded orb,” and 
enclosing stamps, directed the missive to the editor of 
the “ Mogul Magazine ” in New York City. 


CHAPTER XV 

THE FRESHMAN'S WARNING 

I T WOULD have been difficult for Will Phelps to 
explain even to himself why he had sent the 
poem to one of the leading magazines and 
directly against the best judgment of those in whose 
words he had the greatest confidence. Perhaps it was 
sheer bravado, and yet so convinced was the junior 
of the excellence of his production that as he walked 
rapidly back to his rooms he was picturing the scene 
when he should be able to show Foster and Miller and 
perhaps even Doctor Brown himself the little note of 
acceptance from the editors which, somehow, he felt 
convinced must come. To himself the resonant words 
were full of meaning and it was difficult for him to 
understand how any one who read them should not be 
impressed in a similar manner. The young pro- 
fessor's suggestive but somewhat brutal figure of 
hanging clothing on a clothes-horse recurred to him 
and caused a momentary pang of resentment, but it 
only served to deepen his purpose. If the “ Mogul 
Magazine ” should by any chance reject the poem he 
would simply send it on to other editors. He had 
heard that it was extremely difficult for a new and 
unknown writer to obtain a fair hearing from editors 
who were already prejudiced in favor of certain 

147 


148 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


writers, and naturally, and by virtue of that very 
fact, not favorably inclined to estimate at their true 
worth the writings of other men. But somewhere 
there must be a man who would carefully read and 
duly appreciate the merit of the poem. Perhaps it 
might be the editor of the “ Mogul 99 himself. 

There was comfort in the thought, and Will had 
recovered somewhat from the resentment he had felt 
during his interview with Doctor Brown — an inter- 
view which had terminated somewhat differently from 
his expectations. He was singing in his most cheer- 
ful tones when he entered the room. His room-mate 
was bending over his desk and evidently hard at work. 

“ Hello, Foster ! 99 shouted Will. “ What’s up ? ” 

“ I’m afraid nothing is up till I turn it up. Things 
never turn up for me, somehow, no matter how long 
I wait for them. I have to do the ‘ turning up 9 my- 
self.” Foster laughed as he spoke, but his earnest- 
ness was not to be concealed from his friend. 

“What are you doing?” demanded Will. 

“Trying to find an idea or two for the debate. 
You’re going in for that, aren’t you ? ” 

“ You mean the preliminary debate — the trials for 
the Alden affair?” 

“ Yes.” 

“ Time enough for that yet,” laughed Will. “ Yes, 
I’m going in for it, but the question was only 
announced this morning.” 

“ I know it, but this is the time to begin to prepare 
to get ready.” 


THE FRESHMAN'S WARNING 


149 


“ Let me see — the question is on the election of 
United States Senators by popular vote, isn't it?" 

“ That's what it is. I gave in my name this morn- 
ing, and Professor Morton has already assigned me 
to the affirmative." This professor to whom Foster 
referred was the head of the department of English in 
Winthrop, and by virtue of that fact was in charge of 
the preparations for the debate. “ You'd better see 
him to-day, Will, and put in your name." 

“ I'll see him, all right. I see him too much, any- 
way. He's the most pompous little bantam on the 
faculty. Did you ever see a man strut as he does 
when he mounts the platform to take his seat before 
the class ? " 

“ He's unique," acknowledged Foster with a laugh, 
“but just the same he has charge of this affair and 
you'll have to see him if you go in." 

“ I'll see him. I'm strong for this debate. Why ! 
we must beat out Alden ! There'll be a crowd here for 
the football game, and probably the most of them will 
be on hand the night before to hear this debate. I 
tell you, Foster, it's an opportunity, and you and I 
must make the most of it." 

“ It is an opportunity, just as you say, Will," replied 
his room-mate soberly, “ but if I recollect aright the 
old Eomans are said to have believed that the lady 
by that name wasn't troubled with any superabun- 
dance of back hair." 

“ Oh, I'll grab her by her bangs ! Never you 
fear ! " laughed Will. 


150 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


Foster made no further reply, but turned at once 
to his desk and resumed his task. And nearly a week 
passed before Will Phelps handed in his name for the 
preliminary debate and was assigned to the nega- 
tive side of the question. 

“ You are a trifle late, Phelps,” Professor Morton 
had suggested. “ In fact, yours is the last name to be 
entered. You will have to do some hard work. There 
are to be four teams, with three on each side, in these 
preliminary trials.” 

“ And only three are to be chosen ? ” 

“ Yes, three, with one substitute or alternate. I 
wish you success, Mr. Phelps.” 

“ Thank you,” responded Will as he departed from 
the room. 

His mind was engrossed now with his purpose of 
preparation for the coming trials. He was eager to 
be selected as one of the three debaters to represent 
Winthrop. That he had more than a chance to be 
selected he firmly believed, for by common consent he 
was acknowledged to be one of the best speakers in his 
class, and of his literary ability he himself, as we 
know, had no slight opinion. Filled with enthusiasm, 
he returned to his room, eager to begin his prepara- 
tion, and his face expressed his irritation when he 
opened the door and discovered Mott seated in one of 
the easy-chairs. 

“ Hello, freshman ! Make yourself at home,” he 
said shortly. 

“ Thank you. Fm trying to, Mr. Phelps.” 


THE FRESHMAN'S WARNING 


151 


“ You'll have to excuse me, freshman. I've got 
some work to do." 

“ Don't let me interfere, Mr. Phelps. I'll sit here 
and see how you do it." 

Will laughed as he replied, “ It may do you good. 
From what I hear you are not growing round- 
shouldered under the weight of the burden you're car- 
rying. By the way, Mott, I hear you have not been 
well." 

“Who said so?" 

“ That doesn't matter. How's the follicular ton- 
silitis ? " 

“ It's better, Mr. Phelps. I seem to have attacks of 
it only when I'm in Splinter's room. Did he tell you 
about it ? " 

“You'll have something worse than that if you 
don’t mend your ways." 

“What's that?" 

“ An attack by the faculty. They're seriously 
thinking of sending you to the infirmary for two or 
three weeks." 

“ Honestly ? " Mott's face, which had been expres- 
sionless, suddenly changed, and there was no question 
as to his interest. He sat quickly erect and gazed 
at the junior in a manner that caused Will to become 
serious also. 

“I mean what I say. Your name has been up 
before the faculty." 

“I'll do better, Mr. Phelps. I will, honestly. I 
mean just what I say." 


152 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“It isn’t too late, but you’ll have to begin right 
away.” 

“I’ll begin to-day. I’ll begin now. Got a Greek 
lexicon, Mr. Phelps?” 

“ Yes,” responded Will as he threw the book at his 
visitor. “ Now see if you can keep quiet, Mott. I’ve 
got to go to work.” 

For a few minutes there was silence in the room, 
but it was soon broken in upon by the freshman. 

“ I say, Mr. Phelps.” 

“Well, what is it?” demanded Will impatiently. 

“ We’re going to have a house party.” 

“Who is?” 

“ The Alphas.” This was the fraternity of which 
Mott was a member. 

“ When?” 

“Three days. The girls will come up the day 
before the football game with Alden and stay over 
Sunday.” 

“ Then they’ll be here on the night of the debate ? ” 

“ Sure.” 

Again there was silence in the room, but it had not 
lasted long before Mott again broke in upon it. 

“ Mr. Phelps.” 

“Yes?” 

“ There’s a girl coming up to the house party that 
I want you to meet.” 

“ Yes.” 

“ Will you do it ? ” 

“ Delighted.” 


THE FRESHMAN’S WARNING 


153 


“ She’s a sort of a half-way cousin of mine. I’ve 
written her about you.” 

“ That’s good of you, freshman,” laughed Will, 
swinging about on his chair. The action evidently 
pleased Mott, for he said eagerly, “ She’s a daisy, Mr. 
Phelps.” 

“ Being a cousin of yours, how could she help 
being ? ” 

“ That’s all right. But she is, and you’ll say so 
too when you see her.” 

“ What’s her name ? ” 

“ Stone. Virginia Stone.” 

“ Any relation to Rhode Island granite or Vermont 
marble ? ” 

“ You won’t talk that way when you see her.” 

" Probably not.” 

“ She’s got one fault, though, Mr. Phelps.” 

" Only one ? She’s a lucky girl.” 

“ Only one real one. She’s superstitious.” 

“ Everybody is, more or less. Even my mother 
won’t sit down at a table where there are thirteen — ” 

“ I shouldn’t think she’d mind that if there are 
thirteen there already. She’d make the fourteenth, 
wouldn’t she ? ” 

“ Yes,” laughed Will, “ I suppose she would. 
What’s this Miss Stone superstitious about?” 

“ She goes to a fortune-teller.” 

“ So do a good many others, just for fun.” 

"It isn’t that way with her. She goes for busi- 
ness.” 


154 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ Does it do her any good ? " 

“ Lots” 

“Then you musn't blame her,” laughed Will. 

“ I'm not blaming her, I'm just warning you." 

“ Thank you, Mott." 

“ You needn't laugh, Mr. Phelps* - When you see 
her you'll be just as bad as a hundred others have 
been. She'll lead you on, and then she’ll go to con- 
sult her fortune-tellers. It may be all day with you 
then." 

Will laughed at the seriousness of the young fresh- 
man and Said, “ Does she have regular fortune-tellers 
to whom she goes?" 

“ Always." 

“/Where are they ? " 
y< In Yew York." 

“ Fakes?" 

“Not a bit of it. Everybody has heard of them." 

“Who are they?" 

“ Dun and Bradstreet." 

Will threw back his head and laughed loudly. 
“ Freshman, you beat anything that ever came to 
Winthrop." 

“ But aren't they good fortune-tellers, Mr. Phelps ? 
I've always heard they were, and I know Virginia 
goes to them a good deal to look up her friends." 

“ They certainly are the best in the world." 

“Well, you can’t say I haven't warned you, can 
you, Mr. Phelps ? " said Mott as he rose to depart. 

“ No. You’ve been above-board in everything 


THE FRESHMAN’S WARNING 


155 


except that you told me you wanted me to meet her. 
It doesn’t seem quite fair to have me do that after 
what you’ve just said.” 

“ Oh, yes, it does ! Yes, it does, Mr. Phelps,” said 
Mott eagerly. “ She knows all about you. She knows 
you’re president of your class and she’s heard all about 
that poem of yours too on the ‘ rapid, rounded, rolling 
orb.’ ” 

“ She has ! ” exclaimed Will aghast, his cheeks 
flushing violently. “ Where in the world did she — 
did you, I mean — hear about that?” 

“ Everybody has heard about it, Mr. Phelps. It’s 
great! I can say it by heart. Want to hear me?” 
And Mott began — 

“ Thou rapid, rolling, rounded orb, 

Whose beams celestial ” 

“ Here ! Hold on, Mott ! Tell me where you got 
that?” 

“ I can’t quite say,” said the freshman slowly and 
as if he was striving to recall the occasion when he 
had first heard the sonorous words. 

“ Tell me, Mott ! ” pleaded Will, who was seriously 
disturbed. 

“ I would if I could, Mr. Phelps. Honestly I 
would, but I don’t know.” 

“ You must.” 

“ I’ll do my best. I’ve got a copy of it in my room 
and I’ll look it up and see if I can tell. Good-bye, Mr. 
Phelps.” 


156 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


Will nodded, but did not rise from his chair. He 
was perplexed and chagrined by what the freshman 
had said. Did the whole college know of his poem? 
It was useless, he assured himself, to attempt to do 
more work on the debate just then, and seizing his 
cap he started for the post office. When he received 
the letter, which he perceived was in the box, his 
heart was beating wildly, for in one corner of the 
envelope were the words, “ Editors — The Mogul Mag- 
azine.” 


CHAPTER XVI 


THE PRELIMINARY DEBATE 


S WILL PHELPS departed from the post office 



he came face to face with Doctor Brown. He 


hastily thrust the bulky envelope into his 
pocket and with almost a guilty expression on his face 
returned the salutation of the professor and hastened 
from the place. It seemed to him that every one must 
be aware of the turmoil in his soul, and he turned 
aside into one of the more quiet streets of the little 
village. 

When he was satisfied that no one was near he drew 
forth the envelope and with trembling hands tore it 
open. The manuscript of his poem was before him, 
just as it had been when he had mailed it, but 
enclosed was a letter which he read twice through 
with bated breath. It was a printed and regular 
form, but Will was too inexperienced in such matters 
to understand that, and his feelings were not unmixed 
when he read that the failure to accept the enclosed 
manuscript did not imply “that it was lacking in 
merit. The pressure upon the columns of the ‘ Mogul 
Magazine 9 and the number of articles that already 
had been accepted and were delayed in publication, 
owing to the lack of space, rendered it inexpedient 
to use the contribution which he had so kindly sub- 


157 


158 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


mitted to them. It had been read with interest and 
if in the future he should have anything to submit to 
them it would receive their most careful considera- 
tion.” 

The flattering words were like balm to Will’s feel- 
ings, and in his delight he said aloud, “ There ! I 
guess Miller and Foster won’t be quite so quick to say 
it’s a freshman’s poem next time.” It was true that 
in spite of the glowing words of the letter the manu- 
script had been returned to him, but the bitterness of 
the fact was in part gone, because of the letter itself. 
It was too bad that their columns were so crowded, he 
thought as he walked slowly back to his rooms, but 
the implied praise of the poem indicated that it might 
be “ available ” in the columns of some other maga- 
zine. Had he not heard that Thackeray had sub- 
mitted the manuscript of “ Vanity Fair ” to nineteen 
publishers before the book was finally issued? He 
was positive that he had heard of such a report. And 
what a marvelous success the book had received when 
it made its bow to a waiting world. Instantly he 
resolved to send his poem to the editors of the “ East- 
chester Keview.” This magazine was every month on 
the table in his fraternit}' - house and its pages were 
eagerly perused by the students. Already he could 
picture to himself the attitude he would assume when 
the surprise of his fellows became manifest in their 
discovery of a poem by him — by Will Phelps, junior 
in Winthrop. And he would take a copy to Doctor 
Brown himself when the issue appeared. His eyes 


THE PRELIMINARY DEBATE 


159 


flashed as he thought of the pleasure that would be his 
when he should, with a carefully studied air of indif- 
ference, call the young professor’s attention to his 
poem in the “ Review.” 

Elated now, and even his feeling of disappointment 
in a measure gone, Will ran swiftly to the house, 
bounded up the stairway to his room and was 
delighted to discover when he entered that his room- 
mate was not there. He quickly seated himself at his 
desk and drew open the drawer where his stationery 
was kept. He selected a large envelope, placed the 
manuscript within it and then addressed it to the 
editors of the “ Eastchester Review.” 

Suddenly it occurred to him that it might be well 
to enclose stamps for a possible return of the poem, 
but he was so convinced that the enclosure would be 
unnecessary that it seemed almost like a waste to do 
so. Still it might be well to conform to the universal 
custom, and he hastily drew forth another drawer in 
which his stamps were kept. 

“ That’s strange,” he muttered when he was unable 
to discover any. "I know I left a dozen there last 
night, for I bought them right after dinner.” A 
further search failed to reveal the presence of the 
missing stamps, and then he suddenly opened a 
pocketbook which he also kept in the drawer with his 
stamps. An exclamation of dismay escaped his lips 
when he discovered that the purse was empty. 

“ I left seven dollars in that pocketbook last night, 
I know I did,” he said to himself. “It’s all gone, 


160 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


though, and the stamps are gone too ! I don’t like 
the look of this.” For a time he sat motionless in his 
chair while he recalled the similar loss that had come 
to Miller. It was strange. Will slowly recalled those 
who had been in the room since the preceding night. 
Try as he might he was not able to shake off the 
thought of Mott. The freshman had told him that 
he had unexpectedly received ten dollars at the very 
time when Miller had missed that sum from his desk. 
Then too, Mott had been in the room when Will had 
returned and there was no means of knowing what 
liberties he might have taken in the absence of Foster 
and himself. And yet it was well-nigh impossible to 
connect Mott’s name with the loss. The freshman 
was troublesome, there was no question as to that, but 
Will found it almost impossible to connect his name 
with the disappearance of the money he had left in 
his desk. And yet the junior was seriously troubled. 
For a time he sat in silence thinking over the matter, 
and then at last with a heavy sigh he arose and went 
down to the post office again and dispatched his poem 
to the editors of the well-known magazine. 

It was impossible, or so he imagined, to take up his 
work once more immediately after such exciting 
experiences, and so he turned toward North Hall to 
seek out Miller. His classmate was not in his room, 
but Will seated himself, and finding a copy of the 
“ Eastchester Review ” on Miller’s table, at once took 
it, and seating himself comfortably in an easy-chair 
began to read. And there was a trace of self-satisfac- 


THE PRELIMINARY DEBATE 


161 


tion manifest on his face too, for the prospect of see- 
ing his own name in print on the pages of this very 
magazine had a marvelously comforting effect on the 
mind of the junior. 

When an hour had elapsed and still Miller did not 
return, Will at last arose and departed, but still 
found himself, as he fancied, unable to settle down to 
any serious task. Other classmates were visited and 
the day was gone before he was hardly aware of its 
passing. 

When he returned to his own room he found Foster 
busily engaged in his preparation for the coming pre- 
liminary debates. 

“ Come ahead, Will; let’s thresh this stuff out 
together. You are on one side and I am on the other. 
It’ll be good practice for us,” suggested Foster. 

“ That’s a good scheme, but I think I’ll not try it 
on now.” 

“ Come ahead, Will,” pleaded Foster. 

“ I’ll do it all right, Foster, but I’ll not be able to 
now. I’ve got some other things I must do first.” 

Foster said no more and Will busied himself at his 
desk. He did not undervalue the suggestion of his 
friend, but in his own heart he was so confident of 
being selected as one of the debaters that he did not 
feel inclined to waste any time in undue preparation. 
Everybody in college, as he fondly believed, accorded 
him a place on the team, and he firmly believed the 
inspiration of the occasion itself would arouse him 
and be a source of help such as it would to but few of 

L 


162 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


his competitors, and as for the others, Will in his 
heart affected to despise their attempts. 

On the night of the debate, however, he became 
sharply aware of his lack of preparation. The trials 
were to be held on the evening preceding the debate 
with Alden, a most unusual procedure and one which 
Will could not understand. He protested vigorously 
to Foster, who laughingly replied that “ he was not to 
blame for the change in the programme” and sug- 
gested that Will might do well to see Doctor Brown, 
who was to be one of the judges. 

“ I didn't know he was to be a judge,” said Will 
quickly. 

“ His name has been posted for three days.” 

“Who are the others?” 

“ Splinter, and a lawyer from Boston.” 

“ I ought to dig out a lot of history to-night, but 
I'll have to let it go and do what I can on this debate. 
Got your points all ready, Foster ? ” 

“They are as ready as I can make them. Will, 
they say a good many of the visitors are here now. 
They’ve come up in time to take in the trials as well 
as the debate and the game.” 

“ So I hear,” replied Will, who was already at work. 

A few minutes only had passed when there was a 
rap on the door, and in response to the order to 
“ come in, ” Mott entered the room. 

“Oh, it's you, is it, freshman?” laughed Will. 
“Well, you must sit down and be a good little boy. 
I'm busy now.” 


THE PRELIMINARY DEBATE 


163 


“Mr. Phelps, Miss Stone is here.” 

“ Where is she ? ” 

“ Down at our house. I told her Fd come up and 
get you.” 

“ Sorry I can’t go.” 

“ But you must, Mr. Phelps. She’s waiting there 
now.” 

“ That’s too bad.” 

“ She won’t believe me. Come down yourself and 
tell her you can’t come.” 

“ Did she bring her Bradstreet with her ? ” 

“ I don’t know. Please come, Mr. Phelps. You 
don’t have to stay. You can come right back, and 
there will be time enough then for your work.” 

Will hesitated a moment, and then, disregarding 
Foster’s unspoken appeal, said lightly, “All right, 
freshman! It’s the easiest way to get rid of you. 
I’ll be back in five minutes, Foster ! ” he added lightly 
as he quickly donned the proper garments and set 
forth with the freshman. 

The evening was gone when Will returned to his 
room and Foster was already in bed. For a time Will 
endeavored to busy himself in the work which he 
knew was necessary, but his eyes were heavy and at 
last he rose from the desk and said to himself, “ I’ll 
have to get up early in the morning and do it. I can 
do three hours’ work in one any day before breakfast. 
But on the following morning he was awakened by 
the voice of Foster saying, “ Going to chapel, Will ? 
You’ve got three minutes.” 


164 WINNING HIS DEGREE 

“ What time is it?” demanded Will as he leaped 
from the bed. 

“ Seventeen minutes past eight. Three minutes to 
chapel.” 

It was impossible to dress properly in the time, and 
Will hastily drew on some of his garments and donned 
a sweater, which he partly covered by an overcoat as 
he made a wild rush for the chapel. He was able to 
enter just as the doors were being closed, and when 
he took his seat he was aware that many visitors were 
there, among whom he perceived Miss Stone, his new 
acquaintance of the preceding evening. 

When the exercises were ended he made a wild rush 
with his classmates for the door, striving to avoid 
the eyes of the young lady, although he was convinced 
that she had recognized him and was ready to give 
him a friendly nod. The day had not begun well, and 
when it ended, Will w r as ready to declare that even 
inanimate objects were capable of conspiring against 
him. But he was on time when the debate was called 
and was also aware that a goodly number had 
assembled to hear it. This time when he perceived 
Miss Stone in the audience he went over and spoke to 
her, and when he took his place at the table and the 
proceedings began, something of his old-time confi- 
dence and fervor had returned, and any one who 
saw him would have agreed in the conclusion. Manly, 
alert, eager, he seemed the very embodiment of youth- 
ful vigor and force. 

When the debate itself began he listened attentively 


THE PRELIMINARY DEBATE 


165 


to Foster’s words and to the replies, and was somewhat 
impressed by the force of his room-mate’s arguments. 
At last his own turn arrived, and rising and address- 
ing the judges and audience, he at once began. 

“ I shall not attempt to enter into an extended or 
elaborate argument at this time.” (There was a smile 
on the faces of some of his hearers as Will referred to 
this time as if he was confident that in the other time 
— that of the debate with Alden — he would be free to 
elaborate his points.) The affirmative has everything 
to prove, and it rests with you to say whether or not 
my opponents have succeeded in doing so. Not to 
prove their points is to leave the decision with the 
negative. And that is what we are here for.” A smile 
ran through the audience at Will’s easy-going assump- 
tion, and it was evident that the sympathy of many 
was with him. 

“ Briefly stated, my points are these : 

“ First — The election of Senators should be left as 
it is for the sake of the people themselves. We believe 
in popular government. We believe in the words of 
the immortal mart}rred President in a government of 
the people, by the people, and for the people. But 
there are times when the people need to be saved from 
themselves. The demagogue arrives, and under the 
spell of his glowing oratory the mob, the people, the 
mass is ofttimes swept from its moorings. In the 
choice of Eepresentatives the voice of the people is 
supreme. In the choice of Senators, though the peo- 
ple are not ignored, they are nevertheless saved from 


166 


WINNING HIS DEGKEE 


themselves. They stand — those noble State legisla- 
tures of ours — as a barrier between the despotism of a 
tyrant and the tyranny of a despotic people. They 
represent and at the same time present. They follow, 
yet they guide. They obey, yet they rule. They are 
our servants, and at the same time are our rulers.” 


CHAPTER XVII 


THE AWARD 

T HE response and evident interest of his audience 
were having a very marked effect upon the 
young debater and his eyes were glowing. As 
he turned about to look at the assembly he could see 
Miss Stone and young Mott, who were seated in the 
body of the assembly, and the expression on the fresh- 
man^ face was different from anything he had ever 
seen there. Pride, interest, satisfaction were all com- 
mingled, and as Mott turned and whispered to his 
companion Will could see that she nodded assent to 
what was said, and it was evident that she too shared 
in the feelings of her young friend. 

There was a ring of confidence in Will’s voice as he 
resumed. “ I think it was a great English divine who 
once said, f I pity a priest-ridden people, but I pity 
much more a people-ridden priest/ If I may be per- 
mitted to paraphrase the expression, I would say I 
pity a ruler-ridden people, but I pity far more a 
people-ridden ruler. Pilate stands as the supreme 
example. A trimmer not a guardian, a follower not a 
leader, a servant not a master. He might wash his 
hands in the presence of the assembly, but the blood 
of the innocent was more upon his head than upon 
the heads of the fanatical, howling mob in whose 

167 


168 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


power the Roman ruler stood on that memorable day 
in the history of the world. It is the same principle 
I would here and now apply. I would not belittle one 
whit, even if it were in my power to do so, the voice 
of the people, which sometimes, but not always, is the 
voice of God. If majorities are always right, then 
the howling Jewish mob must have been right when 
Barabbas received their unanimous approval. If the 
minority is wrong, then Paul was wrong, then Luther 
was wrong, then John Adams and George Washing- 
ton were wrong, then the meek and lowly Nazarene 
was wrong. The simple truth is, as we all must 
admit, that there are times when the zeal of the popu- 
lace must be checked, when the people must be led, 
not followed, and one of the great points in the plans 
of our noble forefathers in providing for the election 
and selection of the best men for the Senate of these 
United States of America, was to provide for this very 
thing. And our worthy opponents have not advanced 
anything but the most specious of arguments and the 
most shallow of pleas for a change in a custom that 
has the sanction of more than a century and has 
thereby been established upon a firm foundation.” 

WilPs voice, always one of his most valuable pos- 
sessions, was penetrating and resonant, and the deep 
conviction with which he spoke brought a ripple of 
applause from the audience, but it was quickly sup- 
pressed by the presiding officer. “ My second point,” 
he continued after a brief and effective pause, “ is 
this — the present method of election provides for a 


m p! 



a I 'llw 

/ ✓ / ». jg , g* « 

^I| ?|§§ /. -■ ... / 







w//M vy/ 


• • My second point.' he continued after 
a brief and effective pause, ‘ is this.’ ” 

Page 168. 

































































































































, • 





















THE AWARD 


169 


recognition of the sovereignty of every State in the 
Union. We are a nation — for which fact let ns never 
cease to be duly grateful to the Supreme Euler of all 
nations. We are becoming more and more with every 
passing year a nation of one people. From the North, 
from the South, from the East, from the West there 
comes one word greater than the expression I am a 
Northern man or I am a Southern man, and that is, I 
am an American. This is the greatest rallying cry of 
the people of this great nation. But duly acknowl- 
edging, as I gladly do, the sovereign will of this great 
people, I nevertheless cannot deny that we are a 
union of States. The individual man is the great per- 
sonal unit, but the individual State is also to be 
reckoned with. I hear the voice of Webster, of Clay, 
of Washington, but 1 would not conceal the voice of 
Massachusetts, of Pennsylvania, of the prairie State 
of the West, or the cotton-covered fields of Georgia. 
To recognize one is not to deny or belittle the other. 
True national spirit is not to be found in either alone, 
but in both united. Now this fact was recognized by 
the men who framed our Constitution and launched 
the ship of state upon the tempestuous waves. Only 
our opponents, prejudiced and unable, I fear, to 
appreciate the breadth of the vision which every man, 
woman, and child in this audience sees when the first 
dawning light of intelligence sparkles in their eyes, 
are there to stand against this great and self-evident 
truth. Now it was due to this self-evident truth that 
the election of Senators was provided •” 


170 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


At this time the presiding officer arose, and striking 
his gavel on the stand said, “ Every speaker was to be 
limited to ten minutes. The time, therefore, has 
expired.” 

“ But — but,” stammered Will, “ I have four other 
points. I haven’t touched on them yet.” 

The officer smiled and again struck his gavel on the 
stand and Phelps abruptly took his seat. He was 
aroused and excited, and as he glanced about the audi- 
ence the smiles of approval that greeted him con- 
vinced him that he had at least produced the impres- 
sion he had most desired. For him the interest in the 
debate itself was mostly gone, and it was with a well- 
satisfied air that he awaited the decision of the judges. 

When at last Doctor Brown arose to declare the 
selection of the debaters for the contest with Alden, 
Will glanced smilingly at Mott and Miss Stone, and 
the decided nod of the freshman caused him to laugh 
and turn again to hear what Doctor Brown was say- 
ing. Even then only a part of the young professor’s 
words were heard, but he was listening intently when 
the three selected names were announced. 

“ Mr. Bennett, Mr. Simons, and Mr. Clark.” 

A deep flush spread over Will’s face, and he glanced 
down upon the floor. So deep was his feeling of 
resentment that he could not force himself to glance 
at Mott or Miss Stone. He had not even been men- 
tioned as an alternate, and his feeling of mortification 
and chagrin was intense. 

Hastily realizing that it would never do to make a 


THE AWARD 


171 


display of his own feelings, he compelled himself to 
rise, and turning about, reached forth his hand to 
Foster. The expression of deep sympathy on his 
room-mate’s face was almost as hard for Will to bear 
as his own disappointment, but his words were not 
lacking in cordiality as he said : 

“ It’s all right, old man. I’m glad you’re chosen, 
anyway.” 

“ It’s too bad, Will. It’s a shame. There wasn’t a 
speaker that held the audience as you did.” 

“ The audience, perhaps, but not the judges.” 

“ It’s all the same.” 

“Not quite. It doesn’t seem to be, anyway.” 

“ But I felt sure Doctor Brown would vote for you. 
Will.” 

“ He didn’t, and that’s all there is to say, Foster.” 

Despite his own suffering Will congratulated the 
successful debaters and then turned for the more diffi- 
cult ordeal of meeting his own friends. If he had 
been free to follow his own desires he would have 
fled from the building and sought relief in the woods 
or in the quiet of his room. But to attempt that now 
would be to acknowledge his defeat openly, and that 
was something he must avoid at all hazards. He tried 
to laugh indifferently when he listened to the indigna- 
tion of Mott, which found expression in his words 
of contempt for Splinter and the other two judges. 
It was a trying ordeal for the junior, but as soon as he 
was able to do so he excused himself, declining the 
urgent invitation of Mott to go with him and Miss 


172 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


Stone to the “ spread,” and in a little while was in 
his room and alone with Foster. 

His friend was too considerate of his feelings to 
refer again to the award, and it was Will himself who 
first spoke of it. 

“ Fve tried to look at it from every side, and, hon- 
estly, Foster, I can’t understand it. Can you ? ” 

“ I thought you would be chosen, Will,” replied 
Foster quietly. 

“ So did I, and I don’t mean to be conceited either. 
And think of Clark being one of the elect. Why, the 
fellow hasn’t anything but bombast and pomposity. 
He roars like the bull of Bashan.” 

“He had some good points in his debate.” 

“ I confess 1 didn’t hear them. I don’t believe he 
got them himself.” 

“ Perhaps not. I don’t know anything about that.” 

“ Oh, well, it was hard luck. But there isn’t any 
use in crying over it. The milk has been spilled.” 

“ You’ll make it all right next time.” 

“ I don’t think there’ll be any ‘ next ’ time for me. 
What’s the use? I don’t believe Splinter would vote 
for me if I was the angel Gabriel.” 

“ Very likely,” laughed Foster, but he said no more. 

The feeling of resentment in part was gone on the 
following morning, though Will had passed a restless 
night. His vanity was suffering keenly and he assured 
himself that there must have been some cause outside 
the debate itself that had led to his rejection. But 
what it was he was not able to conjecture. 


THE AWARD 


173 


The warm words of his friends when the students 
departed from the chapel, many of whom declared that 
the action of the judges had been most unjust, were 
sweet to him and in a measure were soothing, but 
when Doctor Brown greeted him quietly Will some- 
what coldly acknowledged the salutation. The young 
professor had seemed to be his friend and his action 
was consequently doubly strange. 

It was only by an act of his will that Will Phelps 
forced himself to attend the debate between the two 
rival colleges. It was mortifying to be compelled to 
sit among the spectators, but he endeavored to appear 
at his ease, though somehow it seemed to him that his 
effort was a failure and that all the assembly must be 
aware of his disgrace, for it was in some such light 
that the young junior was looking upon his failure. 
Still, he joined in the applause that was given the 
speakers, and when at last the decision was awarded 
to the Winthrop trio he cheered lustily with the rest 
of the college. 

To his room-mate that evening he expressed his 
firm conviction that it was only Foster’s arguments 
that had won for Winthrop, and that Clark’s pom- 
posity was a subject for the caricaturists. 

Foster laughed as he replied, “ Will, have you seen 
Doctor Brown?” 

“ No.” 

“ Why don’t you go down to see him ? ” 

“ What for ? To ask him why he didn’t select me ? 
I’d make a fine show of myself, wouldn’t I ? ” 


174 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ I think you’d feel better if yon did.” 

“ I feel all right now. I wasn’t the only fellow 
that was left out, was I ? ” 

“ No. But you know a good many of the fellows 
think you ought to have been on the team.” 

“ Well, I’d rather have them feel that way and not 
be on it than to be on it and have them feel as they 
did about Clark.” 

“ That’s all right too. But, honestly, I’d go down 
to see Doctor Brown. You might find out some 
things that would help you.” 

“ Excuse me,” laughed Will. 

Foster did not explain that he himself had met 
Doctor Brown after the debate and in his zeal for his 
friend and room-mate had asked the young professor 
why Will had not been selected for the team. But as 
he did not refer to what was said Will consequently 
knew nothing of the meeting or the interview. 

On the following afternoon, agreeable to his 
promise. Will went to the house where Miss Stone was 
staying, to take her to Lewis field, where the football 
contest between Winthrop and Alden was to take 
place. He had purchased a Winthrop banner, which 
Miss Stone carried in her hands, and the Winthrop 
colors were much in evidence about the young lady’s 
garb. Her interest and enthusiasm were contagious, 
and Will’s “ grouch,” as she laughingly termed his 
feeling of depression, was forgotten when they took 
the seats on the grand stand which Will had 
previously secured. 


THE AWARD 


175 


The scene before them was of itself one to stir the 
blood of a man much less responsive than was Will 
Phelps. The Alden team was already on the field 
when he arrived, and in their preliminary work the 
enthusiasm of the Alden contingent that filled the 
bleachers on one side of Lewis field continually broke 
forth. 

“ They sing well, don’t they ? ” demanded Miss 
Stone enthusiastically. 

“ Oh, they sing all right. You just wait till our 
team comes and you’ll hear something worth hear- 
ing. There they come now ! ” he added excitedly as 
the squad of thirty brawny young collegians came 
trotting down the field. 

Unmindful for the moment of his companion, he 
leaped to his feet and was shouting with the sup- 
porters of the Winthrop team, who old and young 
seemed to have lost control of themselves. Banners 
were waving, hats were tossed into the air, and a cheer 
“ like the sound of many waters ” rose from the great 
assembly. 


CHAPTER XVIII 


THE GAME WITH ALDEN 

W HEN the shouting and singing died away suf- 
ficiently to permit Will to speak to his com- 
panion he turned to her, his face glowing and 
his enthusiasm for the time banishing every other 
feeling from his heart. 

“ It’ll be a great game, Miss Stone ; a hard fight.” 
“ What makes them fight so, Mr. Phelps ? I have 
seen two games and the way they fight is perfectly 
dreadful.” 

“ They aren’t really fighting,” laughed Will. “ It 
looks worse from the side lines than it does from the 
gridiron.” 

“ Oh, does it ? ” remarked the young lady, the blank 
expression upon her face betraying her complete 
ignorance of the meaning of the words Will had 
employed. 

“ Do you know the points of the game, Miss 
Stone?” inquired Will, his eyes turned toward the 
players in their preliminary practice. 

“Yes, I think I do. I’m sure I do,” she replied 
glibly. “ As I said, I have only seen two games, and 
they were perfectly splendid, though I did not under- 
stand it all as I do now. My young cousin explained 
it all to me this morning.” 

176 


THE GAME WITH ALDEN 


177 


“ Did he ? 99 responded Will somewhat absently. 

“ Yes, indeed, he did. And now I understand it 
perfectly. He told me there was a quarter-back, a 
half-back, a full-back, a way-back and a touch-back. 
You’ll point them out to me when the game begins, 
won’t you?” 

“ I’ll do my best,” Will replied with a smile. He 
was thinking of Mott and the “ explanations ” he 
must have given this girl. But Mott had gone to the 
cheering section and was safe. 

“How perfectly lovely of you, Mr. Phelps. But 
then I don’t think I shall have to trouble you very 
much, for Alfred made it all so plain to me that I am 
sure I understand it now.” 

“‘Alfred’?” 

“Yes. Alfred Mott.” 

“Oh, yes. I had forgotten,” murmured Will. 

“Yes, he explained it all. He is a little dear, 
Alfred is, though he is the most mischievous boy in 
the world.” 

“ Is he?” 

“ Indeed he is, but no one would ever suspect it he 
is so demure. If one is on his guard it’s all right, but 
unless he is Alfred will be likely to make trouble for 
him before he is done with him. It was lovely of him 
to tell me all about the game. He said it would be 
much more pleasant for you if he gave me the 
‘ points ’ before the game started.” 

“That was kind of him.” 

“Indeed it was. I’m ashamed to say it, Mr. 

M 


178 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


Phelps, but I never really knew until this morning 
what a touchdown was” 

“ So ? That was a daisy ! ” Wilks mind was drawn 
from the words of his companion by an unusual punt 
by Hamley. At one time the huge player had been a 
member of Wilks class, but “ circumstances over which 
he had had no control ” had induced him to drop to 
the class below, as he himself had expressed it. 

“Yes, now I understand just what a touchdown 
is,” continued Miss Stone. “ I had seen a great many 
of them, but I never knew just what they were till 
Alfred explained it this morning.” 

“ Yes,” murmured Will absently. 

“ I don’t see why they think they must touch him so 
hard, though ? ” 

“ Touch what?” 

“Why, the man who is the touchdown. Alfred 
told me to watch the fellow with the ball, and he said 
that when he had been thrown down then all the men 
on both sides tried to come up and touch him. That 
was why he was called the * touchdown.’ But I think 
it’s perfectly dreadful when they run and throw them- 
selves right on him, and just as hard as they can too ! 
And sometimes they throw him down so hard, but I 
understand now why they do it, though I didn’t till 
Alfred explained it to me.” 

“ Oh, he explained it to you, did he ? ” murmured 
Will. 

“ Indeed he did, but I don’t think even if the man 
is the touchdown they ought to be so ungentlemanly 



“ ‘ Yes, now I understand just what a touch- 
down is,’ continued Miss Stone.” 


I‘a?e 178 







THE GAME WITH ALDEN 


179 


with him, do you, Mr. Phelps? They might touch 
him without being so rough about it. I don't wonder 
some people think football is a brutal game." 

“ It depends." 

“ When is it they run with the goal, Mr. Phelps ? " 

“ When is it they do what ? " 

“ Run with the goal. Alfred said they took turns 
in doing that." 

“ Alfred is a — great boy." Will at first had 
been indignant at the impish freshman for “ guying " 
his own cousin, as evidently he had, but the remark 
he was about to make was left unsaid. 

“But when do they run with it?" persisted the 
young lady. 

“ I'll tell you when they do," said Will dryly. 

“Thank you, Mr. Phelps! Thank you! I'm so 
glad that I shall not be a trouble to you to-day. My 
brother Tom says that a girl who doesn't know the 
points of a game is the worst thing that can happen to 
the man who takes her. My brother Tom has almost 
stopped taking his lady friends." 

“ But he takes you, doesn't he ? " 

“ Sometimes, but not so often as he used to. I think 
he'll be more willing now that I have learned so much 
about the game. I wouldn't bother him the way some 
of the girls do for all the world. Do you know I never 
even knew what the interference was till Alfred 
explained it to me, though of course I have heard of it 
a thousand times. Do you think there will be very 
much interference in this game, Mr. Phelps ? " 


180 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ There ought to be. Ours is our strongest point.” 

The girl appeared for a moment to be slightly con- 
fused and then said, “ But I shouldn’t think you 
would want him to interfere, Mr. Phelps.” 

“ Want whom to interfere? ” 

“Why, the umpire, of course. Alfred explained 
just how it was. He said every time the umpire 
stopped the game it interfered with it and the fellows 
never liked it. He said they were all down on it.” 

“ Yes. Yes. Of course.” Will repressed his ten- 
dency to laugh and turned his face away to see the 
formations that were being made. 

“ There is one thing I still do not understand, Mr. 
Phelps.” 

“ You are very fortunate.” 

“ Oh, you know I don’t mean that. I mean there 
is one point in the game which Alfred did not explain 
to me, or I forgot to ask him. I can’t tell just which.” 

“ What was the point, Miss Stone ? ” 

“ I’ll tell you. You see I want to find out every- 
thing before the game begins, and then I can follow 
everything right along with you. Why is it that every 
once in a little while the men jump up and all run and 
stand right in a long line across the field ? And they 
do it when there is no reason for it at all. All at once 
both sides will drop everything and stand right up in 
line in front of each other and act just as if they were 
as mad as they could be. What makes them do so, 
Mr. Phelps?” 

“ Why — why, that’s lining up.” 


THE GAME WITH ALDEN 


181 


“ Oh, how stupid of me ! Of course, ! Of course it 
is, and I never thought of it ! Why, of course, yes, cer- 
tainly.” 

“ They're off now ! ” shouted Will as the whistle 
sounded, and both teams stood tense and ready for the 
signal. The entire assembly had risen and the songs 
and shouts were redoubled. The banners and flags 
were waved until the entire place seemed to be a blaze 
of color. Then a silence had followed, the whistle’s 
shrill note was heard and the game was begun. 

“ What makes them all take off their perspira- 
tioners, Mr. Phelps ? ” inquired Miss Stone. 

“ Their what?” 

“ Their sweaters,” replied the girl with a slight 
blush. 

“ They take them off because — because they don’t 
want them on.” Will’s voice was husky and he was 
intensely excited, for Bonnett had broken through the 
Alden line and tackled the man who had received the 
ball on the kick-off before he had returned it three 
yards. 

“ Thank you, Mr. Phelps,” said Miss Stone sweetly, 
but Will did not hear her words, for on the first line-up 
Bonnett had again broken through the dazed Alden 
team, and before he was stopped he had crossed the 
line and a touchdown had been scored by Winthrop. 
Such extraordinary “luck” had never before been 
known in the history of the contests between the two 
colleges and the enthusiasm for a time threatened to 
break all bounds. Old men threw their arms around 


182 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


the necks of men as old as themselves, hats were in 
the air, hands, banners, flags were waved and the 
noisy demonstrations of the Winthrop crowd were 
onty balanced by the death-like silence that rested 
over the seats where the Alden supporters were. 

“ The game is young yet,” remarked Will sagely as 
he and Miss Stone resumed their seats and the two 
teams prepared to renew the struggle. 

“ Is an old game better than a young game?” 
inquired Miss Stone simply. 

“ Sometimes. Yes, I think it is,” added Will with 
a sigh. 

There was a silence for a brief time as the teams 
struggled, neither side being able to advance the ball 
and both refusing to punt as the ball changed hands, 
so fierce was the contest at this stage. 

“ Who was that touchdown, Mr. Phelps ? ” 

Will under the excitement of the game was tempted 
to ignore the question or explain the mistake his com- 
panion had made. 

There was no escape, however, for in a moment 
Miss Stone again said, “Who was that touchdown, 
Mr. Phelps? He looks somehow familiar to me.” 

“ Bonnett made it.” 

“ Oh.” 

Again there was silence for a time, so tense was the 
interest of the spectators, but Miss Stone was not to be 
entirely repressed. “ What a pity that Bonnett who 
is in your class, can’t play, isn’t it, Mr. Phelps? 
Alfred says he’s one of the best players in Winthrop. 


THE GAME WITH ALDEN 


183 


I think his aunt was very unreasonable, don’t you, 
Mr. Phelps?” 

“ I do.” 

“ Who took his place ? ” 

Will made no response, and to his inexpressible 
relief Miss Stone herself said quickly, “ Oh, yes, I 
remember now. Alfred said that a gentleman named 
Hodges had taken Bonnett’s place on the team. You 
say this touchdown’s name was Bonnett too. ” 

“ No — ye s — his name — you can see it on your score 
card there. ‘ Left half-back, Hodges.’ ” 

“ Yes, I see. I see it now. Why do they think Mr. 
Hodges must be left ? ” 

“He isn’t ‘left.’” 

“But you said he was. You certainly did, Mr. 
Phelps.” 

“Why, yes. To be sure. So I did. Go it, Bon- 
nett ! ” he suddenly shouted, leaping to his feet as the 
fleet-footed half-back made a gain of twenty yards, 
only to be thrown hard by the watchful Alden full- 
back. 

“He’s a touchdown again! I think this game is 
perfectly splendid, Mr. Phelps, only I do wish they 
wouldn’t touch him so hard when he is down there on 
the ground. It doesn’t seem quite fair, does it? 
There they go again ! ” she exclaimed delightedly. 
“Is this Bonnett any relation to the Bonnett I 
know?” she inquired. 

“ Certainly — that is — yes — I don’t know the Bon- 
nett you know, you see,” said Will in some confusion. 


184 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


As the game progressed he was sometimes dimly 
aware that the girl by his side was making comments 
or asking questions, to which he replied in a per- 
functory way. He had no thought of neglecting her 
or failing in his courtesy as a gentleman, but the 
excitement was too keen to permit him to turn his 
eyes often away from the struggling athletes on the 
field. 

When at last the game was ended and the only 
score that had been made was the touchdown of Bon- 
nett’s in the first five minutes of play, the surging 
crowd carried the triumphant Winthrop team from 
the field on the shoulders of their admirers. Will 
was as enthusiastic as any, but when at last he and 
Miss Stone departed from Lewis field, the reaction 
had come. Winthrop had won a victory both in the 
debate and in football, and he had not had a share in 
either. Somehow it was depressing to the impulsive 
young junior, and it was only by an effort of his will 
that he forced himself to listen to Miss Stone’s enthu- 
siasm over the game. As soon as he had left her "at 
the house in which she was a guest, he started rapidly 
down the street, a sudden impulse having mastered 
him and caused him to decide not to return to his 
room until he had acted upon the impression he had 
received. 


CHAPTER XIX 


A POINTED INTERVIEW 

W HEN Will Phelps stopped it was before the 
house in which Doctor Brown was living. His 
thoughts were in a turmoil, and even then he 
was tempted to turn back and avoid an interview 
which he had repeatedly declared he would never 
seek. And yet the junior’s depression was so strong 
that he thought it would even be a relief to hear the 
candid words of the young professor, for Will knew 
that Doctor Brown would not say anything in which 
he did not firmly believe. To have the students of 
Winthrop shouting enthusiastically over two victories 
the college had won and yet to feel that he himself had 
been left out was an experience to Will so new and 
novel that as yet he had not been able to adjust him- 
self to the changed conditions. Even in his school 
days he had been a natural leader and had accepted 
the position as his almost as by his own right. In 
college a similar experience had befallen him in spite 
of his severe struggle in his freshman year , 1 and now 
to be left out of the recognition of his comrades was 
a most bitter trial. Not that Will Phelps was unduly 
fond of himself or inclined to measure himself 
falsely by his own standards, for, indeed, it had been 


i See “ Winning His ‘ W.’ 


185 


186 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


his boast that he had made it a rule to be honest with 
himself, or at least he fancied that he was honest ; but 
the present experience was one that seemed to him 
strange if not unexplainable. He assured himself 
again and again that in the trial debate he had held 
his audience and stated his points forcefully, and his 
own convictions had been strengthened by the words 
of his friends. He had suddenly determined when 
he had left Miss Stone that he would go to Doctor 
Brown at once and ask him why it was that he had 
been rejected in the selection of the Winthrop 
debaters. The apparent egotism of the question 
might safely be ignored, he assured himself repeat- 
edly, for the young professor would have grounds to 
suppose that he had come for any other purpose than 
to receive some good advice. 

When he was seated, however, in Doctor Brown’s 
study, he discovered that the task was much more dif- 
ficult than he had fancied it would be. He had 
responded to the quiet and cordial greeting he 
received, and for a time the conversation turned upon 
the success of Winthrop in the two contests, and the 
enthusiasm of the young professor somehow seemed 
to grate upon Will’s feelings as he sat facing him. 

At last a measure of courage returned and he said 
quietly, “ Doctor, I came down to-night on purpose 
to ask you a question.” 

“Yes?” 

“ I’d like to know why it was I was thrown out of 
the debate. Of course, I don’t mean to imply that the 


A POINTED INTERVIEW 


187 


decision was wrong or that I think I ought to have 
been one of the men chosen; but I should like very 
much to have you tell me just what you think was 
wrong.” 

There was an expression of tenderness in Doctor 
Brown’s face as he quietly watched the junior while 
he was speaking, but Will was not aware of it, for his 
own face had been cast down as he spoke. 

"Do you think you should have been selected, 
Phelps ? ” inquired Doctor Brown quietly. 

" Perhaps I’m not the best judge, doctor,” 
responded Will, laughing a trifle uneasily. " Prob- 
ably every fellow in the debate thought, if the decision 
had been left to him, that he ought to have made the 
team.” 

" That may be so, though I am inclined to question 
it. I wish you would answer my question, Phelps.” 

" I certainly hoped I would be,” replied Will more 
confidently. 

" Did you base your hopes on your debating ? ” 

"Why, of course. I think I held the audience as 
well as any one did, and to me it seemed as if my 
points were good.” 

" You did hold the audience the best of any one 
who spoke. If the decision had been left to the audi- 
ence, there is no question that you would have been 
first on the list.” 

" It’s good of you to say so, doctor,” said Will, his 
face flushing with pleasure at the welcome words of 
praise. 


188 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ But, as I said, the decision was left to the judges, 
not to the assembly. Now, Phelps, can you think of 
any reasons for the judges* action ? ** 

“ Probably they knew better.** 

“ Probably they did. But what was it that made 
them go against the very evident popular feeling for 
you ? ** 

“ I can*t say.** 

“ Do you mean that ? ** 

“ Why, yes, I suppose I do. I didn’t have time to 
finish what I had to say,** Will added, a trifle uneasy 
under the earnest gaze of his friend. 

“ Exactly.** 

“ Do you think that was what shut me out ? ** 
inquired Will, eager to find something that might 
soothe his own troubled feelings. 

“ Before I answer, let me ask a question. Why did 
you not finish in the time given you ? You knew what 
the time limit was to be, didn’t you ? ** 

“Yes, sir. I knew. But somehow the time got 
away from me before I knew it.” 

The young professor smiled as he said, “We are 
getting on. Now perhaps you will explain why you 
did not prepare your debate so that you would con- 
form to what you knew must be a fixed rule.” 

“ I couldn’t just measure the time, doctor.” 

“ Is that the real reason ?** 

“ I think so.” 

“Think again then, Phelps,” said Doctor Brown, 
shaking his head as he spoke. 


A POINTED INTERVIEW 


189 


" I don’t know any other reason. Honestly, I don’t, 
doctor.” 

" Did you write out your argument, Phelps ? ” 

"No, sir.” 

"Why not?” 

"I intended to, but somehow I didn’t find the 
time.” 

" Didn’t find the time, or didn’t take it ? ” 

" Both,” laughed Will, though he was again slightly 
uneasy under the professor’s gaze. 

" No, not ‘ both ’ ; only one. Which one, Phelps ? ” 

" Perhaps if I had sat up nights ■” 

" The real reason, then, was that you did not pre- 
pare yourself ? ” 

"Weren’t my arguments good, doctor?” 

" Excellent ; but how many points did you make, 
Phelps?” 

"Why, only two,” said Will in some confusion. 
" I had five others ” 

" But you only made two in the time allotted ? ” 

"Yes, sir. But if they had allowed me to go 


" Which was just what they did not do. Now, 
Phelps, suppose you had been one of the judges. Sup- 
pose you had made all due allowance for forceful 
presentation, diction, ease of manner, and the other 
various elements in public speaking, and then had 
carefully taken the points presented by one speaker 
and against them had weighed the points presented 
by his opponent. Suppose one speaker had quite 


190 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


fluently, perhaps forcefully, presented two points and 
his opponent had replied to the two and then pre- 
sented five of his own to weigh against them, and 
these five had not even been touched upon by the first 
speaker, to which of the two men do you think you 
would give the award ? ” 

“ I see what you mean, Doctor Brown,” said Will 
in a low voice. 

“ And you did not see before ? ” 

“ I didn’t think of it before.” 

“ You know now that you ought to have thought of 
it?” inquired the professor kindly. 

“Yes, sir.” 

“ Now, Phelps, I voted for you. I don’t mind tell- 
ing you now, but I don’t expect you to refer to it.” 

“ You did ? ” said Will delightedly. 

“Yes — and almost against my better judgment. 
There is no question and there was none concerning 
your ability. It was a question of arguments pre- 
sented. In spite of your lameness in that particular 
I voted for you, because I still believed you might 
best represent the college. But I had only one vote 
and there were two against it, and in my heart I 
believe the other two judges were more nearly correct. 
Certainly the result of the debate with Alden indi- 
cated they were not far wrong, anyway.” 

“ Yes, sir.” 

“ Phelps, you have asked me to reply to a question, 
and I have done so. May I go on and say one thing 
more which you have not asked for — which perhaps 


A POINTED INTERVIEW 


191 


you may not want to hear, though I know you need to 
hear it?" 

“ Yes, sir." Wilks voice was low and his cheeks 
were scarlet. 

“ It is just this, Phelps. You are a fellow of 
promise, but whether or not you will fulfill the 
promise is a serious question — a very serious one. I 
heard of a man once who was always referred to by 
his friends as a most promising man. In fact, he 
promised more and did less than any one they knew." 

“ Why, Doctor Brown ! " protested Will, somewhat 
indignantly. “ I think my word is " 

“ I am not speaking of what you think, but of what 
I know. The world is abundantly supplied with just 
such men. They are bright, they have clear minds, 
they are magnetic, perhaps, and forceful; but they 
never do more than give promise, for the promises are 
never fulfilled. They will not work, and I care not how 
quick or bright a man may be, if he will not work, fail- 
ure is already spelled in capital letters for him. Now 
take the matter of your work in history. You have 
naturally a good mind for the study. You can look 
beneath the surface and are quick to grasp the salient 
points, but you do not master the details. Such 
mastery implies drudgery, and that is a price that 
thus far you have failed to pay, though it is the price 
of success in any line. You showed your lack very 
plainly in your debate. Naturally, you were as good 
— almost as good as the best. But you simply had not 
prepared yourself — and failed. There is no other 


192 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


word for it. Flatly, you failed. Now whether or not 
you are still to go on doing that with your life I 
cannot say.” 

“ Lots of fellows do well after they leave college,” 
suggested Will feebly. 

“ By which you mean to infer or imply that they 
did not do well in college ? ” 

“ Yes, sir. Some of the high-stand men in college 
never amount to anything when they get out into the 
world.” 

“ I am not talking about bookish men or high-stand 
men. I am talking about the men who fail because 
they are not ready for the opportunity when it comes. 
That means preparation, and preparation means 
drudgery. To meet it successfully there is something 
inborn in some men, developed in others, but in them 
it must be or they become flat failures.” 

For a time there was silence in the room. Will was 
suffering keenly, for the professor’s words, though 
the}' had been spoken in a tone that showed the kind- 
ness in the man’s heart, were nevertheless different 
from any he had ever heard before. His mother had 
always assured him that what he did was right, and 
unconsciously Will had accepted her teachings as true. 
His pride was stung and he was hurt by the words of 
this man as almost never before he had been in his 
life. 

“ Is what I have been saying true, Phelps?” 

“ I haven’t any doubt you think it is.” 

“ But you do not?” 


A POINTED INTERVIEW 


193 


Will made no response, and Doctor Brown said, 
“ Phelps, did you ever hear that the reason why some 
prize-fighters win is due as much to the fact that they 
can ‘ stand punishment ’ as to the force of their own 
blows ? ” 

“ Yes, sir.” 

“ IPs true of other men than prize-fighters. The 
manner in which one can ‘ stand punishment ’ is very 
often a test of his strength. I am not sorry I have 
spoken. I — and you too — ought to be sorry that it 
was necessary to speak. I am interested in you more 
than you can understand, Phelps.” The young pro- 
fessor’s voice was low and his deep feeling was appar- 
ent in his tones. “ I believe in you. I am sure you 
will meet this problem. Our professor of chemistry 
was telling me the other day that he had been 
employed by the Board of Health of a certain city to 
analyze the city’s water supply. He did so and found 
it polluted. What do you suppose followed? The 
Board of Health was indignant at him and discharged 
him at once. They will find some other chemist who 
will be more subservient and will say what they want 
him to say, for it seems that some of these health 
officials were stockholders in the water company.” 

“ I see what you mean, Doctor Brown,” said Will, 
rising as he spoke. 

“ Come and see me again.” 

"Thank you, I will.” Will spoke quietly and at 
once departed. 

His feeling of anger was not gone, though he 

N 


194 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


acknowledged to himself that the professor’s words 
were not entirely devoid of truth. He was still think- 
ing of them when he entered the post office and 
received the letter in his box, a letter which he quickly 
perceived was from the editors of the “ Eastchester 
Review.” Instantly he tore open the envelope and 
perceived that his manuscript had been returned, and 
as he read the letter (a printed letter) that had been 
enclosed, he again was informed that the “ failure to 
accept his poem was not due to any lack of merit, but 
the pressure upon the columns of the magazine, the 
lack of space,” etc., etc. 

Angrily Will thrust the letter into his pocket and 
departed from the post office, convinced that all the 
world was conspiring together against him. 


CHAPTER XX 


MORE LOSSES 

T HE feelings of the young junior were in nowise 
relieved when he entered his room and instantly 
perceived that Foster also was in trouble of 
some kind. He was too preoccupied with his own 
keen disappointment and chagrin to give much heed 
to his room-mate’s evident distress, and he flung him- 
self moodily into an easy-chair and glared at a spot 
on the wall, from which he did not turn away his eyes 
for several minutes. 

“Will,” said Foster, at last breaking in upon the 
awkward silence, “ I’m right up against it. I don’t 
know what to do.” 

“ Same here. I guess we all have our troubles.” 

“ What’s the matter ? ” 

“ Oh, nothing.” 

“ I thought you’d lost your best friend instead of 
having lost what I have.” 

“ What have you lost? ” said Will, without looking 
at his room-mate. 

“My watch.” 

“Your what?” Will sat quickly erect now and 
stared at Foster. 

“My watch.” 

“Where did you lose it?” 


195 


196 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ I can’t say. If I knew that, I might be able to 
tell the rest of the story. I only know where I left it.” 

“ Where was that ? ” 

“ In the top drawer of my desk.” 

“ Sure ? ” 

“ Yes,” said Foster quickly. “ I took it out of my 
vest when I put on my sweater this afternoon, and I 
put it right in this drawer.” As Foster spoke he 
placed his hand on the drawer in question, which was 
still open. 

“ Might have slipped under some of the papers. 
Have you looked?” Will quickly arose and began 
himself to search in the open drawer. 

“ No use. Will,” said Foster quietly, though he did 
not offer to assist his friend. “ I’ve had every piece 
of paper out and gone through everything.” 

“ It certainly isn’t there,” Will said at last, as he 
abandoned the search and turned about facing his 
room-mate. “ You’re sure you didn’t leave it in some 
other place?” 

“I know I didn’t. I remember putting it right 
there.” 

“ Your name was in it, wasn’t it, Foster ? ” 

“ No. But I have the number of the works and the 
case too.” 

“ That’s good. We may find it. It’s strange,” Will 
muttered, then looking up he said quickly, “ Have you 
any suspicions, old man?” 

“None that I want to speak of.” 

“ Did I tell you I lost some money the other day ? ” 



“ ‘ I took it out of ray vest when I put 
on my sweater this afternoon.’ ” 

Page 196. 











MORE LOSSES 


197 


"No. Did you?” 

“ Yes, I did, and good money too. You remem- 
ber that Miller told us of his having lost some, don’t 
you?” 

“ Yes.” 

" There’s something wrong here.” 

" Evidently.” 

" Was anybody here when you left the room? ” 

“ No, not then,” replied Foster hesitatingly. 

" There’s been somebody here, though, and you 
know who it was, Foster,” said Will decidedly. “ Tell 
me about it.” 

“ There isn’t much to say.” 

“ Tell me what there is.” 

“Why — there was somebody here when I came 
back,” Foster said at last, “ but I don’t like to speak 
of it. Probably he doesn’t know anything about it.” 

“Who was it?” 

Foster hesitated a moment and then said, “Your 
protege ” 

“ Mott?” 

“ Yes.” 

Will was silent for a moment, and the expression 
of his face betrayed how seriously he was troubled. 
“ Did you speak to him about it ? ” he said at last. 

“No. I didn’t miss it till after he was gone.” 

“ Did he act guilty ?” 

“ Not so far as I could see. Of course, I was not 
thinking of it while he was here. I don’t believe he 
would take it. Do you, Will ? ” 


198 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“No — that is — I don’t want to — I don’t know. 
Suspect any one else ? ” 

“ No, I don’t think I do.” 

“ What are you going to do about it ? ” 

“ I can’t say. I haven’t decided yet. What would 
you do?” 

“ It’s a pretty serious matter. You might talk it 
over with the dean.” 

“ I might, but I’m not ready yet. Better keep our 
eyes open and our mouths shut for a time. I have 
thought of one little scheme, though I don’t believe 
it will amount to much.” 

“ What’s that?” 

“ Writing the police in some of the towns and tell- 
ing them to keep an eye on the pawnshops and look 
out for the numbers. Lucky I kept both the number 
of the case and the works too.” 

“ That’s not a bad scheme. It may find its way 
there sooner or later. And I’ll write to New York 
too. That’s the center of gravity for all such things.” 

“ Let’s do it now ! ” said Will impulsively. “ You 
write a half-dozen letters and I’ll do the same.” 

“ All right,” responded Foster, and for a time both 
boys were writing busily. When the letter-writing 
was completed, Will, who had enclosed his poem in 
another letter which he had directed to the editors 
of the “ National Magazine ” and included it in the 
pile he had written the police of various neighboring 
cities, arose and said, “ Let me have your epistles, 
Foster. I’ll go right down and mail them now.” 


MORE LOSSES 


199 


“TO take them, Will. You’ve done enough.” 

“ I’m going down anyway. Got to go.” 

“ All right, then,” and Foster handed his room- 
mate the letters which he had written. 

For the time Will’s own feeling of depression had 
been forgotten in the trouble of his friend, but it 
returned in a measure as he walked down the street, 
and when he arrived at the post office he was once 
more pitying himself for the sufferings which the 
mass of ills that had unjustly fallen upon him had 
produced. 

His feelings were not relieved when he discovered 
Mott just departing from the post office as he him- 
self entered. The sight of the freshman somehow was 
irritating, for at the moment he was the last man he 
wished to see. The freshman, however, was appar- 
ently in good spirits, for he hailed the upper-classman 
loudly. “ Hello, Mr. Phelps ! I was up in your room. 
I wanted to see you.” 

“ So I heard,” replied Will dryly, as he deposited 
his mail. 

“Did you? Well, you didn’t hear what I came 
for.” 

“ Ho.” 

“ Miss Stone is going to stay over.” 

“ Is she ? ” 

“ You don’t seem to be very profoundly impressed, 
Mr. Phelps.” 

“ Look here, Mott,” said Will almost fiercely, “ that 
was a scurvy trick you served her.” 


200 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ I serve her a scurvy trick ? I don’t know what 
you mean, Mr. Phelps.” Mott’s voice was low and his 
manner instantly became that of injured innocence. 

“ Yes, you do know. You pretended to explain to 
her the points of the football game with Alden. You 
told her the men ran with the goal, that a touchdown 
was the fellow who fell with the ball, and that when 
he was down every man had to touch him, and I don’t 
know what else, of such stuff. I never had such a time 
in my life.” 

“Why, Mr. Phelps,” protested Mott meekly, “I 
didn’t do anything of the kind. She wanted me to 
give her the points and I did it. I did it just as well 
as I knew how. But no one ever saw a girl that could 
learn them, no matter how many times you went over 
it with her.” 

“ That will do, Mott. You know what vou did, and 
so do I.” 

“ Well, I didn’t do very much. The most of it was 
hers. Honestly, Mr. Phelps.” 

As Will did not reply Mott said, “ I want to tell 
you something. And I want it to be strictly 
de novo ” 

“ Strictly what ? ” 

“ In strict confidence. Just between ourselves. 
Just de novo” 

“ You mean inter nos , then, don’t you ? ” 

“ Well, that’ll do as well as any other. I’ve no busi- 
ness to quote Latin. But in plain English, you won’t 
speak of what I’m going to say. Will you ? ” 


MORE LOSSES 


201 


It was impossible for Will to determine whether the 
freshman was speaking seriously or not, but he gave 
the desired promise, and Mott said, “ You know I owe 
you five dollars, Mr. Phelps.” 

“ Is that what you don’t want me to speak of ? ” 
laughed Will. 

“ Not exactly. I had some money from home 
to-day and I put a five-dollar bill in the upper drawer 
in my desk. I left it there so that I wouldn’t spend 
it and it would be safe for you, Mr. Phelps. Well, 
when I came back from the game the money was gone. 
So now I can’t pay you, that is, I can’t pay you now, 
Mr. Phelps; but I’ll have some more money from 
home in a few days and I’ll pay you then. I’m sorry 
I can’t do it now.” 

For a moment Will did not speak. The similarity 
between Mott’s loss and that of Foster, the fact that 
he himself and Miller had also lost money, and that 
all the losses were very similar, was at least a coinci- 
dence. He looked keenly at his companion as they 
passed a street-light, but it was too dark to enable him 
to see the expression on Mott’s face. Perplexed and 
distressed. Will at last said: 

“ You take your loss very quietly, Mott.” 

“ What’s the use ? It’s gone, isn’t it ? ” 

“ It certainly seems to be. What are you going to 
do about it?” 

“ There isn’t anything I can do, is there, Mr. 
Phelps? Of course, I sha’n’t leave any more money 
around loose like that. I’ll invest it just as soon as I 


202 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


get it. If it’s got to go, I’d rather be the chap 
through whose hands it slips than to give the other 
fellow the chance. Wouldn’t you, Mr. Phelps?” 

Ignoring the question, Will said, " Have you heard 
of any other fellows losing any money — or any- 
thing ? ” 

" No, 1 can’t say that I have,” replied Mott slowly, 
as if he was thinking seriously of the question. 
" Why, yes, I have too,” he suddenly added. " I 
heard Splinter say to-day he had lost something.” 

“ Splinter ? What had he lost ? ” 

" He complained to the class that he had lost the 
bloom of his youth. I don’t know what that is, do 
you, Mr. Phelps?” 

Somehow the flippancy of the freshman irritated 
Will as it never had done before and he said almost 
savagely, " Drop it, freshman! Answer my ques- 
tion.” 

“I haven’t heard of anybody,” responded Mott 
meekly. 

"Not any one?” 

"Not a soul. Has somebody else lost something, 
Mr. Phelps?” 

" You may hear more about it later. What time is 
it, Mott?” he suddenly demanded, as they stopped 
underneath a street-light. 

"Ten o’clock, Mr. Phelps,” replied Mott, as he 
drew forth his watch. 

" That’s a good watch, isn’t it ? ” inquired Will, as 
he stretched forth his hand. " Let me see it.” 


MOKE LOSSES 


203 


“It's a good watch for a dollar,” laughed Mott. 
“ My father says he won’t get me a better one till I 
deserve it.” 

“ Wise man. Good night,” Will added abruptly, as 
he turned away. 

“ Hold on a minute, Mr. Phelps ! ” called the fresh- 
man quickly. “ I haven’t told you the most impor- 
tant thing yet. It was what I came to see you about.” 

“ Tell me to-morrow. I haven’t any time now,” 
replied Will brusquely, as he left the freshman 
and began to walk rapidly up the street. 

Poster was already in bed when Will entered his 
room, and it was not long before he followed his 
room-mate’s example. It was a long time, however, 
before he was asleep. The day had been a depressing 
one, and now that he was alone Will’s own troubles 
came back to him with redoubled force. Even the 
perplexing freshman and Foster’s loss were ignored 
as he recalled the interview with Doctor Brown. 
Anger, chagrin, mortification swept over him by 
turns. He had been treated unfairly and unjustly. 
What right had the young professor to talk to him 
as he had ? His pride was stung and his self-esteem 
had suffered a rude shock. Gloomy and dispirited, 
he rolled and tossed till the bell in the chapel tower 
rang out the hour of one, and then at last Will sank 
into a deep sleep. 

The sun was shining bright and strong when he 
awoke on the following mornmg, and he discovered 
that he had barely time in which to dress and eat his 


204 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


breakfast before the service in the college chapel 
would be held. Hurriedly he prepared, and when he 
was about to enter the chapel he was accosted by Mott, 
who evidently had been awaiting his coming. Impa- 
tiently he turned upon the freshman, but in a moment 
he was intensely interested in what Mott was saying. 


CHAPTER XXI 


A DESERTED HOUSE 

“ "1TISS STONE wants to see you at the close of the 
lTl service,” said Mott hurriedly. 

“ All right. Is she here ? ” 

“Yes. She is sitting with the families of the 
faculty.” 

“ Fll find her, then. Come on, freshman ! ” 

Both students passed into the building just in time 
to prevent the doors being closed upon them, and in a 
somewhat undignified manner hastened to their 
respective seats. A hush fell over the assembly, for, 
in spite of the prevailing contrary opinion, the innate 
reverence of a body of college students, when their 
interest is held, is one of their most marked character- 
istics. 

At the close of the service Will stopped in the pe 
in front of the one in which Miss Stone was seated, 
and as he returned her greeting he said, “ Mott told 
me you had a confession to make.” 

“Not exactly a confession,” replied Miss Stone 
with a smile. “ It is more in the nature of a request. 
I am to go home on Tuesday, and to-morrow a trip up 
South Mountain has been planned. It’s to be in the 
afternoon, so it won’t interfere with your recitations, 
will it, Mr. Phelps?” 


205 


206 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ Not in the least.” 

“ Can you join us, then? We want to see the view 
from the top. At first I thought it would be too cold, 
but that may make it all the better for the walking. 
There are to be nine of us, and I wanted you to go so 
that I might explain to you how dreadfully that 
young Mott deceived me.” 

“ About what ? ” 

“ About the game with Alden. He told me the 
most dreadful tales about the points of the game, and 
I was so foolish that I believed him, and then, worst 
of all, I tried to show you how much I knew. You 
must have been highly entertained, Mr. Phelps,” she 
added in some confusion. 

“ Don’t let that trouble you, Miss Stone,” laughed 
Will. “ We saw the game, anyway, and not even 
Mott’s coaching could prevent us from winning.” 

“ Yes, and I never was so glad about anything,” she 
said eagerly. “ Then you will join us, Mr. Phelps ? ” 

“ Most certainly, and with all the gratitude in the 
world.” 

“ That’s good of you.” 

As they passed out from the chapel Will still con- 
tinued by the young lady’s side and accompanied her 
to the house in which she was staying. There he left 
her, and, promising again to be promptly on hand for 
the expedition of the morrow, he walked rapidly back 
to his own rooms. 

In spite of the brightness of the day his feeling of 
depression returned in a measure when he seated him- 


A DESERTED HOUSE 


207 


self in his easy-chair. He was alone, and there was no 
one to break in upon his thoughts, which were by no 
means pleasing. He resented the words of Doctor 
Brown more even than he had when first he had heard 
them. The young professor had taken too much upon 
himself. What right had he to say such things when 
he had not asked for his opinion ? And yet Will could 
not conceal from himself the fact that in a measure 
he had drawn the words the professor had spoken. 
Had he not gone to him for the very purpose of ask- 
ing his opinion? And had he not given it? To be 
sure, it was not exactly what Will had expected. But, 
honestly, whose fault was that? Doctor Brown cer- 
tainly had not volunteered any advice. And was it 
possible that what he had said was true? Will com- 
pelled himself to face the question heroically, and he 
was obliged to acknowledge that the words had hurt 
most of all because in his heart he knew they rested 
upon a substantial basis of truth. Did he not trust 
more to his quickness and readiness than he did to 
thorough, honest work ? Doubtless it would have been 
much more pleasing to hear the young professor praise 
him, but he was old enough and wise enough to avoid 
being “ coddled.” And yet was not that the very thing 
he was seeking? Doctor Brown’s words as to the 
ability of prize-fighters to “ stand punishment 99 came 
back to him. He smiled as he thought of the figure 
which the refined and cultured instructor had used 
to emphasize his point. And yet was it not true? 
The man who fled at the first hard blow, the one who 


208 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


gave up and cried because of the first hurt he received, 
was a baby. The race of life was not for infants in 
arms, but for men strong enough to endure to the end. 
He had been playing the baby act. Probably he had 
needed, even if he had not wanted, the very sug- 
gestion Doctor Brown had made to him. He thought 
too of the manner of his teacher when he had been 
speaking to him, and his heart softened in a moment. 
Various epithets, such as “ chump,” “ fluke,” 
“quitter,” came to his mind, and he accused himself 
of being guilty of all. Seizing his hat he darted from 
the room, determined to seek Doctor Brown and 
acknowledge at once the debt he owed him. He would 
show him that his good words had not been spoken in 
vain, and that even if he was no prize-fighter he could 
stand up under “ punishment ” like a man. 

Under the force of the reaction that was now upon 
him in full force, and as eager now to show that he 
was determined to profit by the words of the young 
professor, he almost ran to the boarding place of 
Doctor Brown. He was keenly disappointed when 
he was informed that the professor was out of town 
and would not return until the following day. The 
spirit of his newly formed resolution, however, was 
still strong upon him as he hastened to his fraternity 
house, and his elation was so great throughout the day 
that his room-mate inquired as to its cause. 

Will laughed in response to Foster’s query, but he 
evaded a direct reply. On the following day, at the 
appointed hour, Will was promptly on hand for the 


A DESERTED HOUSE 


209 


proposed expedition to the summit of South Moun- 
tain, as the highest of the adjacent hills was named. 
It was a laughing, somewhat boisterous group of 
young people, accompanied by the father and mother 
of one of the students, that began the ascent. There 
was a rough roadway that, like a scar, could be seen 
on the mountain-side, and up this the merry party 
proceeded. 

Will and Miss Stone were in the rear of the party, 
and soon were so busily engaged in their conversation 
that they were hardly aware of the fact that they 
had been dropping behind the others. 

“Yes,” Miss Stone was saying, for the conversa- 
tion had turned upon the subject of young Mott, “ he 
is your most devoted admirer. He will sing your 
praises world without end if one will only listen.” 

“Which it would be difficult to find any one to 
do,” laughed Will. 

“Very likely,” replied the girl demurely. “But 
then I think you have a great responsibility, Mr. 
Phelps, and you can’t escape it,” she added soberly. 

“ Some are born with responsibilities resting upon 
them, some achieve them, and some have them thrust 
upon them.” 

“I am deeply interested in him,” continued Miss 
Stone. “ You know he is my cousin and my favorite 
too. His mother died when he was a baby, and his 
father ever since has not appeared to care very much 
what became of his boys. And there is so much that is 
good in Alfred. I’m glad he is such a friend of yours.” 
o 


210 


WINNING HIS DEGKEE 


Will was by no means so enthusiastic as his com- 
panion, for, though he had laughed at the drollery of 
the freshman in question, the recent troubles were 
perplexing. He was, of course, aware of Mott’s feel- 
ing toward him, but he had attributed it very largely 
to the natural regard which many a freshman had 
for the members of the upper classes. 

“ Do you know how much money he has to spend ? ” 
he inquired. 

“ A good deal. Too much altogether. Why do you 
ask ? ” 

“ Oh — because I wanted to know.” 

“ That’s a woman’s reason.” 

“ And mine too.” 

“ Tell me, is he careless, is he reckless ? ” 

“He gets into every scrape he can find, but ” 

Will hesitated as he thought of the recent “losses” 
that had occurred. 

“ But what ? ” demanded the girl. 

“Is he honest?” 

“ Perfectly. He is mischievous and always has 
been, but I don’t believe he ever told a lie in all his 
life. Why do you ask ? ” 

“ Oh, it’s well to know,” said Will lamely. “ If one 
has to be responsible for another you know he ought 
to know something about the make-up of his man. 
Not that I’m willing to say I’m responsible for him,” 
he hastily added. 

Miss Stone at once launched upon the portrayal 
of her young cousin’s character, and somehow Will 


A DESERTED HOUSE 


211 


came to share in her enthusiasm as she told of the 
freshman's life. He never had had a sister, but he 
had made a confidant of Miss Stone. And she told 
of the temptations, the air of indifference with which 
he had been surrounded, how he had at last decided 
to enter college, what his letters to her had con- 
tained, and, above all, his deep-seated admiration for 
Will Phelps. Upon this last she had built many 
hopes, and Will somehow felt guilty as he listened to 
her glowing words. He silently resolved that he 
would do more for Mott than he had been doing, even 
if it should lead to some disagreeable results in the 
matter of the “ losses." The boy appeared in a new 
light and was certainly in need of help. 

“ Oh, Mr. Phelps ! " said Miss Stone suddenly. 
“ See that delightful old well-sweep ! I have seen pic- 
tures of them, but I never saw a real one — I almost 
said a live one — before. Perhaps the old oaken bucket 
is there too ! " As she spoke she pointed toward the 
ruins of an old house near which still stood a sturdy 
though somewhat decaying post with a long “ sweep ” 
fitted upon it — one end in the air and the other rest- 
ing upon the ground. The house itself was crum- 
bling, and the air of desertion was so forlorn as almost 
to be pathetic in its appeal. 

The girl had in her enthusiasm turned aside from 
the roadway and was running lightly toward the 
deserted house. They were two-thirds of the distance 
up the hillside. Will could perceive, and the other 
members of the party could no longer be seen. He 


212 WINNING HIS DEGREE 

hesitated a moment and then quickly followed Miss 
Stone. 

“ Such a sight almost seems to me human,” Miss 
Stone said as he rejoined her. “ Just think of what 
the walls of that house must have seen. When the 
people first built it, all this region must have been a 
wilderness. Perhaps the Indians came here and 
frightened the young wife with their savage looks. 
Who knows how many times she stood in that very 
doorway and waited for her husband to come home? 
Maybe the children played around this very spot 
where we are standing, and they now are all dead, or 
grown old and gone. Perhaps the f good man of the 
house ’ died in that very room there,” and she pointed, 
as she spoke, to the broken windows overgrown with 
tangled vines. “ Oh, what a story the old place could 
tell if it only had a voice ! ” 

Will was thinking seriously of what the eager- 
hearted girl was saying. Here was the very material 
for which he was looking for his next poem or article. 
"If you will help me I'll try to tell it,” he said 
quickly. “ I'll write it up for the next ‘Lit./ and 
who knows what may come of it.” 

“ Oh, do, Mr. Phelps ! I wonder no one ever 
thought of it before.” 

“ I'm glad they didn’t. You don’t care if I follow 
up your suggestion?” he inquired. 

“ ‘ My ' suggestion ? Why, it’s yours, Mr. Phelps. I 
never thought of it. But I’m sure it will be interest- 
ing. I’ve heard of your literary ability. Why, do you 


A DESERTED HOUSE 


213 


know, Alfred has committed some of your poems to 
memory. There’s one that begins: 

“Thou rapid, rolling, rounded orb, 

Whose beams celestial ” 

“ There ! That will do ! ” laughed Will. “ I don’t 
know where the freshman got that, but if I had known 

he w r as spouting my ” 

“ I must see that dear old well-sweep ! ” broke in 
the girl eagerly. Her enthusiasm was contagious, and 
Will, w'ho had seen this very spot a dozen times since 
he had entered Winthrop, turned with a new interest 
to watch the enthusiastic girl as she moved swiftly 
toward the sweep. 

He was still thinking of the possible poem in the 
walls of the forsaken house, and hardly heard her 
words as she called, “ Come here, Mr. Phelps. This 
is the best of all. There are poems everywhere — — ” 
Her words ended in a piercing shriek and suddenly 
she disappeared from sight. Horrified, Will Phelps 
bounded toward the spot, and even while he ran he 
could perceive what had befallen his companion. The 
old well had in all probability been covered, and the 
grass had grown over the decaying boards till the very 
spot was concealed from sight. Without a suspicion, 
Miss Stone had stepped upon the covering and the 
grass had given way beneath her weight and she had 
fallen into the depths of the well. The one piercing 
cry was all that he had heard, but the silence that fol- 
lowed was even more agonizing. It seemed to him 


214 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


that his feet were held back by heavy weights as he 
leaped toward the spot, but in a moment he had 
gained the place, and throwing himself upon the 
ground, peered over the edge into the black depths 
of the well, which he instantly perceived was deep and 
dark. 


CHAPTEK XXII 


AN ADVENTURE 

A FAINT glimmer from the water far below him 
was all that Will Phelps at first was able to see. 
A horrible fear that his companion might have 
been killed swept over him as he gazed into the deep 
darkness of the well. 

“ Miss Stone ! Miss Stone ! ” he shouted. 

“Here I am,” came back a feeble response. 

Will could see the indistinct outlines of her form 
as she spoke. About ten feet below the ground she 
was clinging to the roots of the great maple tree that 
grew near and had twined and intertwined about the 
sides of the well. 

“ Are you hurt ? ” he called in his excitement. 

“ I don’t know,” she replied. “ I’m hanging onto 
these roots, but I’m afraid I can’t do it much longer. 
Hurry ! Be quick or I shall fall.” 

A shudder passed over Will as he heard the despair- 
ing call, and, shouting to her, he said, as he leaped to 
his feet, “ Hang on ! Hang on, Miss Stone ! I’ll get 
help in a minute ! ” 

The excited fellow dashed about the old house, 
searching for a pole, a rope, anything that might serve 
as an aid to his companion in her plight. He broke 
open the door, but there was nothing he could use to 

215 


216 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


be found within the empty walls. He darted into the 
woods, he ran to the crumbling barn, but still he was 
not able to find anything to aid him in his efforts. 
It almost seemed as if the ruins had conspired to baffle 
him in his desire to rescue his companion. Almost 
in despair he turned and ran swiftly back to the road, 
but not one of his companions could be seen. 

“ Help ! Help ! ” he shouted again and again, but 
his voice sounded strangely hoarse and feeble in his 
own ears. “ Help ! Help ! Come back here ! 99 he 
called again and again, and then, as still no answering 
call could be heard, he placed a finger in his mouth 
and whistled shrilly a half-dozen times. ‘Again he 
sent forth his agonizing call for help, and then, 
trembling and fearful that Miss Stone might have 
been unable to maintain her hold on the interlacing 
roots, he darted with all speed back to the well. 

“ Are you there ? 99 he called hoarsely, as once more 
he flung himself on the ground and peered over the 
edge into the depths below. 

“ Yes,” came back the response. 

Intensely relieved, Will again leaped to his feet, 
shouting as he did so, “ Hold on a little longer, Miss 
Stone! Keep up your heart! I’ll get something to 
help now ! ” 

Darting into the nearby woods, he frantically began 
to search among the trees for a branch which he 
might cut and use. As nearly as he had been able to 
estimate the distance, he thought Miss Stone must be 
about ten feet down in the well. If he could only find 


AN ADVENTURE 


217 


a branch that would serve his purpose! Again it 
seemed to him for the moment that there must be a 
conspiracy even among the trees of the woods against 
him. Branches too large or too small for his purpose 
were to be seen in abundance, but it was almost 
impossible to find one that he could use. 

Soon, when he had in his confusion and eagerness 
darted almost helplessly from tree to tree, his eyes 
were turned upon one long branch of a spreading 
beech that might be made available. Instantly draw- 
ing forth his pocket-knife he began to cut vigorously. 
In his excitement the blade slipped and the blood 
trickled from his finger, but he was unmindful of 
pain and even the bleeding itself. He cut with savage 
strokes, but the wood was tough and his knife was 
small, and his progress was slow, painfully slow, as it 
seemed to him in his over-excitement. 

At last, after what seemed almost an endless 
time, he was able to tear the branch from its place, 
and instantly he began to strip the leaves and smaller 
limbs and twigs from their place as he ran swiftly 
back toward the place where he had left his com- 
panion. 

He had left a projecting smaller branch near the 
end of the limb where he had cut it from the tree, 
which formed a crotch, and as he glanced at it, it 
flashed into his mind that it might serve as a foot-hold 
for the imperilled girl, and then if she could manage 
to grasp firmly the limb itself at the same time, he 
might be able to draw her up. But was the limb or 


218 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


pole long enough to serve such a purpose? A great 
fear fell upon him as he glanced again at it that it 
would be too short. He dropped it upon the ground 
as once more he peered over the edge. 

“ All right, Miss Stone ? ” he called breathlessly. 

“ Yes,” was the trembling reply. “ But I can’t 
hold on much longer.” 

“ Oh, yes, you can,” he called, striving to keep up 
her courage. “ I’ll try to help you out now. I’ve got 
a limb of a tree here, and I’m going to lower it to 
you. Put your foot in the crotch at the end, and then 
grip the limb with your hands, and I will draw you 
up.” 

“ I’m afraid ! I’m afraid you’ll drop me,” moaned 
the terrified girl. 

“ Ho, I won’t. It’s strong enough to hold you ! I’ll 
pull you up before you know it ! Now, then, here it 
comes.” 

Will stood up and quickly lowered the branch till 
he could see that it was beside the place where the 
girl was clinging. It was long enough to reach her, 
and one source of fear at least was gone. “ Don’t be 
afraid! Be careful, and take plenty of time. I’m 
braced here and there is no fear of 3^our falling. Put 
your foot in the crotch first and then take firm hold. 
Now, then ! ” 

Miss Stone carefully obeyed his instructions and 
did not utter another word. A thrill of admiration 
passed through him as he watched her, and for a 
moment even his alarm was gone. When, however, 


AN ADVENTURE 


219 


her full weight was upon the limb he realized what 
a task was before him. His feet were firmly braced 
and he was pulling upon the heavy weight. The diffi- 
culty was increased because he was not able to pull 
straight up, for he was leaning over the open well. 
The cruel gleam of the water, at least forty feet below, 
seemed murderous and waiting for. its victim. The 
weight too, seemed to increase with every inch. The 
perspiration stood out in drops upon his forehead as 
he strained and lifted. His hands were torn and 
bleeding, but steadily the girl came upward. He 
dared not lift too rapidly, lest his hold might slip. It 
seemed to him that he could hear voices in the dis- 
tance, but he must not reply, for a shout from him 
might startle the girl and cause her to loosen her 
grasp. His face was purple, and it seemed to him that 
his arms were starting from their sockets, so fearful 
was the strain. And yet carefully and steadily he 
lifted, and slowly and surely Miss Stone was rising 
to the surface. 

Suddenly there was a rush of feet about him and 
he was dimly conscious that other hands were also 
upon the limb. Nofc a word was spoken, but in a brief 
time he was aware that the girl’s arms were grasped ; 
and as he staggered backward he could see that she 
had fainted. She was placed upon some sweaters 
which the students had hastily taken off and arranged. 

“ She’s fainted. She’ll be all right in a minute,” 
Mott said to Phelps, as he went toward her. 

Will vaguely wondered how the freshman chanced 


220 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


to be there, but he made no inquiries, and in a brief 
time he could see that Miss Stone had revived. 

She was still weak, however, and the sight of her 
colorless face smote Will as if he had been himself 
guilty of some fault. 

“ We’ll have a carriage here just as soon as Baldwin 
can get one at Winthrop,” said Mott. “ It won’t be 
long.” 

“How did it happen, Mr. Phelps?” inquired the 
father of one of the boys, who, as we know, had been 
a member of the party. 

“We stopped here to see the ruins of this old house. 
Miss Stone wanted to, and she ran on to see the old 
well-sweep there. She was a little ahead of me, and 
then before I knew it she dropped right into the well. 
It was covered over, but the wood was decayed and 
gave way when she stepped on it, I fancy. I don’t 
see how she ever escaped going straight down into the 
water. The well must be at least forty feet deep.” 

“I grabbed the roots,” said Miss Stone, who was 
sitting up now and partly recovered. “ That stopped 
my fall, and there was a place there where I could 
put my foot. So I rested it there and hung on. But I 
couldn’t have done it much longer,” she added, as she 
closed her eyes as if she would shut out even the 
remembrance of the peril. 

“ You look as if you had almost fallen in, yourself, 
Mr. Phelps,” said Mott quietly. “Look at your 
hands ! ” 

For the first time Will was aware that his hands 



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“ ‘ You can take Miss Stone back, any- 
way, and that's the main thing.’ ” 

Page 221. 



AN ADVENTURE 


221 


were bleeding. He glanced at them, bnt made no 
response, and when a half-hour had elapsed the 
sound of horses and of a wagon of some kind coming 
swiftly up the hillside could be distinctly heard. In 
a brief time it came within sight and it was seen that 
Baldwin and a farmer were seated on the spring-seat 
of an ordinary farm wagon. The student leaped to 
the ground as the wagon was halted beside the group, 
and said hastily, “ I found this man right down here 
near the foot of the mountain. I thought I wouldn’t 
wait to go on to Winthrop, so I told him I’d give him 
five dollars if he’d come up here and take Miss Stone 
back to the village. And he came.” 

“ Yes, here I be,” said the farmer. 

"All right. You can take Miss Stone back, any- 
way, and that’s the main thing,” said the man who 
was now the leader of the little party. The wagon- 
seat was rearranged and the young lady was assisted 
to her place, the mother of one of the boys taking 
a seat beside her on one side and one of the young 
ladies on the other. 

“ Mr. Phelps ought to ride too,” suggested Mott. 
“ He looks as if he had been through the war.” 

Will insistently declined, and soon the wagon 
departed, with the remainder of the party following 
on foot. Again and again Will Phelps was compelled 
to describe what had occurred, but a measure of the 
excitement had departed when at last the little group 
re-entered the college town. 

Too wearied to leave his room that evening, Will 


222 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


was delighted when at about nine o’clock Mott came 
and reported that Miss Stone was still suffering from 
the shock and that her return to New York had been 
postponed for two days by the village physician. 

“ She thinks you’re a wonder, Mr. Phelps,” said 
Mott with enthusiasm. 

“ Does she ? ” 

“ Indeed, she does. One never knows what’s going 
to happen, does he ? ” continued Mott. “ Who would 
have thought that such a thing as this would be a part 
of our trip when we started out ? ” ‘ 

“ No one.” Will looked at the freshman, who 
plainly had been sobered by the experiences of the day 
and wondered if it was possible that there could be 
any foundation for the suspicions he had entertained. 

“ That’s so, Mr. Phelps. That’s so. I expect to 
have Clark come around and preach me a sermon. He 
always does when anything serious happens. You 
know he rooms right next to me.” 

“ Yes. Does he come often ? ” 

“ Depends on what you call f often.’ Once is too 
much for me. I can’t stand him, you know. He’s 
got religion all right, but he thinks it’s all in dealing 
in a lot of pious twaddle.” 

“ What do you think it consists of, Mott ?” 

“What? Eeligion? Oh, I don’t know. I never 
thought much about it.” 

“ Think of it now. Suppose some man asked you, 
what would you say ? ” 

“I’d tell him to see you, Mr. Phelps.” Mott’s 


AN ADVENTURE 


223 


mood had changed, and apparently his air of indiffer- 
ence and flippancy had returned. 

“ What should I tell him ? ” 

“ You know, Mr. Phelps. You know ! ” said Mott 
decidedly. “ You don’t talk so much as Clark, but 
somehow I never am where you are without thinking 
I ought to drop some things — if not others,” he added 
dryly. 

“ What do you think you ought to drop, Mott ? ” 

“ Oh, I don’t know. Bothering Splinter, for one 
thing, I suppose. But if he’d quit bothering me, I’d 
do the same for him. Honestly, Mr. Phelps, do you 
think it’s square for him to do all the tormenting ? ” 
Will’s own experiences with “ Splinter ” were not 
so dim that he failed to “sympathize in a measure with 
the freshman, but he thought the opportunity was too 
good to be lost, and so he told him in detail of his 
own struggle 1 with the professor of Greek. Mott evi- 
dently was interested, but still somewhat incredulous. 

“ I like a square man, anyway,” the freshman said 
at last. 

“ So do I. But it’s a good thing sometimes for a 
fellow to ask himself if he is square.” 

“ Don’t you think I am, Mr. Phelps ? ” 

“ I want you to be. Sometimes, though, I don’t 
know,” said Will seriously. 

“ Say it, Mr. Phelps ! Say it ! You’ve got some- 
thing you want to say to me. I’ve known it for a 
long time. Let me have it straight. I’m not afraid.” 


1 See “ Winning His ‘ W.’ 


CHAPTER XXIII 


A LONG PULL 

T HE attitude of the freshman, perplexing though 
it was, and his apparent earnestness caused Will 
Phelps hastily to decide to broach the subject 
which for some time had been uppermost in his 
thoughts. Strange as it was, he found himself the 
one who was almost on the defensive as he approached 
the topic, and he was much more excited than his 
visitor, though his voice did not tremble when at last 
he spoke. 

"Mott, have you heard of anything being lost 
lately in college?” he began. 

" Nothing except the bloom of Splinter’s youth, as 
I told you, and my five dollars.” 

"Drop that, freshman! This is a more serious 
matter.” 

To Will it seemed as if the expression of Mott’s 
face changed slightly, but he could not be positive. 
It might have been the reflection of his own feelings. 
" What is it, Mr. Phelps ? ” inquired Mott slowly. 
"There have been a good many things taken 
lately.” 

" What things ? I don’t understand you.” 

" Well, to put it straight, I mean money and some 
other things too. One fellow has had a gold watch 
224 


A LONG PULL 


225 


taken, for example. Of course, the police in almost 
every city have been notified and the — the thief will 
be run down. The money is a different affair. But 
the man that took it will be found before long. And 
you haven’t heard a word of it ? ” 

“ Not a word, Mr. Phelps. I’ve lost some money 
myself, but I never thought of charging any one with 
stealing it. I guess I could have told where it went if 
I had to pass a e test ’ on it.” 

“ That’s all right, but this, I tell you, is a different 
thing.” 

“ Do you suspect anybody ? ” 

“Yes. I have had my suspicions.” 

“ Who?” 

“ I can’t tell you now, or at least I sha’n’t. It’s 
too serious a matter to bring up till you are sure. 
But I don’t mind telling you that I think it’s one 
fellow at the bottom of the whole thing and he’ll be 
found out just as surely as you are sitting in that 
chair.” 

There was a brief silence in the room and then 
Mott said quietly, “ Why did you tell me about it, Mr. 
Phelps?” 

“ Why, you see, I thought — I didn’t know but you 
might have lost something or heard something about 
it.” Will’s confusion at the abrupt question of the 
freshman was decidedly annoying and he was angry 
at himself for displaying it. 

“ Yes, I see,” said Mott slowly, rising as he spoke. 

“Don’t hurry, freshman,” protested Will quickly, 
p 


226 WINNING HIS DEGREE 

“You were not born yesterday and you can keep 
your eyes open. You may be able to help us run the 
fellow down, and the matter concerns the whole 
college.” 

“ Yes,” said Mott slowly. 

“ Some of the money was taken from your dormi- 
tory and some from here. It’s a nasty mess, Mott.” 
Will endeavored to speak cordially, for his heart 
almost misgave him for having referred to the affair 
at all. It was too serious a charge to bring even by 
implication, and his question as to the part the fresh- 
man might have had in the matter was very serious 
now. “ I don’t think you’d better speak of it to any 
one. I don’t know why I told you, only I thought you 
might have heard something about it.” 

“ No. I haven’t heard anything.” 

“ Well, if you do, you’ll let me know, won’t you? ” 

“ Yes, I’ll let you know.” Mott’s voice and man- 
ner were so different from his customary tones and 
bearing that Will’s perplexity increased. Was the 
fellow guilty, after all? Had the implication been 
taken for more than he meant it to be? Did the 
freshman’s manner indicate guilt or was it that he 
was deeply hurt by the implied suspicions? Will 
could not decide, but his own manner became more 
confused, and in his efforts to make Mott feel that he 
must not believe too much was implied, he made 
matters even worse. 

“We’ve got some traps set,” Will said hastily, 
“and if you hear of anything or can think of any- 


A LONG PULL 


227 


thing to do, as I believe you can, you must come 
straight to me with it. Will you do it, freshman?” 

“ Yes, sir. Fll do it.” There was no enthusiasm 
in Mottos reply, and when in a brief time the fresh- 
man departed, his subdued manner was a source of 
still greater confusion to the troubled junior. 

His suspicions that Mott had resented the conver- 
sation were confirmed as the days passed and the 
freshman no longer came to his room. Even when 
Will met him on the street the hearty greeting he 
gave was returned in a subdued manner and there 
was no doubt as to the fact of a breach having been 
made. Sometimes Will blamed himself for having 
spoken, and then again his conviction was strength- 
ened that the change in Mott’s manner indicated 
guilt. His feeling for the freshman had become 
stronger than he knew at the time, and the changed 
relations had become a source of sorrow to the junior. 

Will had called twice upon Miss Stone before the 
physician gave the desired consent for her to return 
to her home, and on each occasion he had been 
tempted to consult her in the matter that was so 
seriously troubling him. But he had decided that it 
would be unfair to both for him to do so as long as 
the solution of the problem was still so uncertain. 
Both he and Mott were at the station when the young 
lady departed, but the freshman avoided any oppor- 
tunity for conversation, and the junior had returned 
alone to the college. 

A plan which he and Foster had devised of marking 


228 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


a bill and leaving it in a place where a thief would 
be almost certain to find it, if he investigated the con- 
tents of the unlocked drawers of Will’s desk, also 
failed, and the losses apparently ceased, for not 
another theft was reported during the winter. This 
fact did not serve to allay Will’s fears or suspicions, 
but the rather increased them. Had his warning to 
Mott been heeded ? The coincidence, if it was 
nothing more, between his interview with Mott and 
the sudden cessation of the thefts was, to his troubled 
mind, not without significance; but he felt that it 
was impossible for him to do more, and so he waited 
with such patience as he could command, either for 
the solution of the mystery to be found or for the 
freshman to return to his former allegiance. 

Meanwhile, Will Phelps gave himself to the legiti- 
mate work of the college as never he had done before. 
His purpose to inform Doctor Brown of the decision 
to do better work was abandoned, because he decided 
it would be better for him to do the work and then let 
the results speak for themselves. 

The winter days that followed were somewhat 
dreary, and the monoton}’' of the steady grind of the 
daily work was irksome, but Will was aroused by the 
sting of the young professor’s words and resolutely 
held himself to the task, especially in his history. He 
speedily found that there was an exhilaration in the 
work such as he had never known before, and his 
interest in the subject, which was treated with vivid- 
ness and life by the enthusiastic young teacher. 


A LONG PULL 


229 


became more marked with every passing day. He 
found that he was learning not only of deeds that had 
been done and of men who did things, but also of 
influences lying behind. The story of the achieve- 
ments, the struggles and triumphs, the forces at work, 
the causes and results of the laws of life that had 
been at work and were still working, were fascinating. 
Occasionally, in the satisfaction which he felt in his 
work, there came a vision of a possible prize in his- 
tory at the close of the year, but, though the vision 
was tempting, he did not dwell upon it, for it was 
much too like a shadow to give promise of substantial 
results. 

The poem which he had sent to the various 
magazines was returned with clock-like regularity, 
until the editors of six distinct publications had had 
the privilege of perusing it. In every case he was 
informed that “ the failure to use the poem was not 
due to any inherent defect, but it was returned solely 
because of the pressure upon their columns, the want 
of available space,” etc., etc. 

The familiar expressions had ceased to comfort his 
heart by this time, and he had even hardened himself 
so that he could smile when the well-remembered 
platitudes appeared in his opened letters. With slight 
hope that his poem would meet with any better recep- 
tion, he had sent it on to the seventh magazine, “ just 
to complete the number,” he assured himself grimly, 
and when, after the lapse of a few weeks, the manu- 
script was again returned, he did not even stop to 


230 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


read the printed statement that “ the failure to avail 
themselves of the privilege which had been so kindly 
submitted to the editors was not due to any inherent 
lack of merit,” etc., etc., but consigned the envelope, 
with manuscript and letter enclosed, to the flames. 

“ That’s the end of that,” he said to himself grimly 
as he watched the paper curl and twist in the fire. 
“ Thackeray may have submitted ‘ Vanity Fair ’ to 
nineteen different publishers before he found one to 
appreciate its merits, but seven are enough for me. 
What twaddle it was ! How did I ever have the nerve 
to send it, anyway ? ” Will forced himself to face the 
matter courageously, though the effort did not come 
easily. “ Shall I quit ? If it isn’t in me, what’s the 
use of bothering those polite editors any more ? Bah ! 
‘No lack of merit’! Why, that’s just what the 
trouble was ! Why couldn’t they say so honestly and 
be done with it? Taffy and molasses and soft soap, 
combined or singly, are not a very substantial diet. 
I’d rather have a man talk to me straight, as Doctor 
Brown did.” He paused for a moment as the last bit 
of paper on the hearth curled, blazed for a moment, 
and then fell apart in gray ashes. “ I’ll do it ! I’ll 
do it ! ” he said suddenly. “ I’ll do it now ! ” And in 
his enthusiasm he slapped his sides and then eagerly 
seated himself at his desk and began to write. The 
plan which had suddenly presented itself to his mind 
appealed strongly to him and he was in a fever of 
excitement and interest as he drove his pen swiftly 
across the white paper before him. 



“ ‘ That's the end of that,’ he said to himself 
grimly as he watched the paper curl.” 

Page 230. 

































• 






















































A LONG PULL 


231 


Even when Foster came into the room he did not 
glance up, and his room-mate, knowing Will’s habits 
well and believing that his friend was preparing one 
of his numerous papers in history, did not speak until 
it was time for dinner, and then Will said, “ Go on 
without me, Foster. I’ll be up by and by.” 

But the hours passed and the junior did not rise 
from his desk. His interest and excitement did not 
flag, and when ten o’clock came he had completed his 
work. “ That will do ! That’s all right ! ” he said 
to himself enthusiastically, as he thrust the manu- 
script into a drawer and went out for a walk. Upon 
his return he busied himself with his studies, though 
it was difficult to banish from his mind the recent 
task upon which he had been engaged. The clock in 
the tower announced the hour of midnight before 
Will Phelps was in bed. 

On the following day he re-read the manuscript, 
and with a sinking of the heart. Was this the stuff 
that he had written on the preceding evening ? What 
could have made him believe it was good for any- 
thing ? It too was twaddle worse even than his sopho- 
moric appeal to the “ rapid, rolling, rounded orb.” 
In disgust with himself and sadly depressed, he half- 
angrily thrust the manuscript back into the drawer 
and hastened from the room. 

In his zeal in his work — a zeal that was partly due 
to his determination to show Doctor Brown that his 
estimate had been not altogether correct, and in part 
due to Will’s own consciousness that the criticism had 


232 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


been based upon a weakness which he was compelled 
to acknowledge to himself was true — he had heroic- 
ally decided not to try for a place on the basket-ball 
team. Basket-ball was one of the chief relaxations 
of the winter months, and the decision not to play had 
cost Will Phelps not a little, for he was acknowledged 
to be one of the best men in college. An occasional 
outing with bob-sled or skates, the brief vacation at 
Christmas had been all that he had permitted himself 
to take. With his enthusiastic temperament, what- 
ever Will Phelps did was very likely to be overdone. 
There was no comparative degree in his make-up. He 
was one who must do his best in whatever he under- 
took, or he was very likely not to do anything, and 
when the zeal was upon him for work to show Doctor 
Brown that he could do more than make a “ showy 
recitation” in history, he dropped other important 
matters in the determination to succeed in the one 
line at least. 

When the spring days came, however, something 
of a change came over the junior’s attitude. History 
was still his objective point, and neither “ spring 
fever ” nor spring weather was able to cause him to 
neglect that department of his work. Other depart- 
ments, perhaps equally important, did suffer some- 
what, but Will explained to Foster that “ he must 
have some out-door exercise or he would go stale.” 

As a consequence, the junior entered with all his 
zeal into the preliminary contests in tennis — the con- 
tests by which the selection of the two men to repre- 


A LONG PULL 


233 


sent Winthrop in the intercollegiate contests were to 
be made. Agile, supple, quick of motion and mind, 
Will Phelps played the game as he did many other 
things in which his interest was generously aroused, 
with might, mind, and strength. 

As a consequence, there was no surprise among the 
Winthrop students when the preliminaries and semi- 
finals had passed to learn that Will Phelps was one 
who had gained a place among the finals. Nor was 
the surprise increased when it was also learned that 
he and Mott, the freshman, were the only two left 
in the contest, to one of whom the championship of 
the college was to be awarded. And the day of the 
deciding contest had arrived. 


CHAPTER XXIV 

THE TOURNAMENT 

A GREAT crowd of students had assembled to 
watch the contest, and it was soon apparent that 
the sympathies of the greater number were with 
Will Phelps. The young junior, in spite of the fact 
that he knew he was certain of a position now on the 
team that was to represent his college, nevertheless 
was eager to win, for the championship of Winthrop 
would then be his for the year. It was already cer- 
tain that he and Mott would represent the college 
in the “ doubles,” but the present contest would not 
only decide the championship but determine which 
of the two should be the representative in the 
“ singles ” at the coming intercollegiate games. 

Will glanced at the face of his opponent, and what 
he saw there convinced him that he would be com- 
pelled to do his utmost to win. Determination and 
dislike were both expressed in the freshman’s face. 
Mott had been a surprise to the entire student body in 
the skill he had displayed. He had made no reference 
to his skill as a tennis player, and the steady line of 
success that had followed him in the tournament had 
clearly shown him to be an expert — a “ find,” as the 
manager enthusiastically declared. 

Will’s face was set and his cheeks were somewhat 
234 


THE TOURNAMENT 


235 


pale when the game at last began. He studied his 
opponent as the first few balls were returned, and 
speedily decided that his hope of winning depended 
upon the steadiness of his play. It seemed almost a 
reversal of the natural dispositions of the two players 
to watch their methods. Will, impulsive, quick, 
active, was not attempting to make any spectacular 
returns or any specially swift strokes. His main 
attempt seemed ever to be to return the ball, though 
naturally he varied the swiftness of his strokes. He 
was quiet and collected, ready and watchful, but 
steadiness seemed to be his most marked char- 
acteristic. 

On the other hand, Mott, who had ever given the 
impression of stolidity, was endeavoring to play a 
swift and quick game. His service was exceptionally 
strong and at times the light ball sped along the 
ground so swiftly that it was impossible for Will to 
return it. At such times the junior did not even make 
an attempt to reach the ball, apparently husbanding 
his strength with the utmost care. Some of Mott’s 
brilliant strokes drew forth the enthusiastic plaudits 
of the assembly, but at such times it was seen that 
Will’s movements became apparently slower as the 
light flashed from his eyes and the lines about his 
mouth became more set. Mott danced about the court, 
striving to return every ball, and though many of his 
swift strokes were outside, nevertheless the first two 
games were won by him with apparent ease by the 
scores of 6-4 and 6-3. 


236 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


The third game, however, went to Will by a score 
of 6-2, and the next he also won by the score of 6-4. 
The fifth and sixth games then fell to him, and the 
first set was declared to be his by the score of 6-2. 
His steadiness and the fact that he was holding some 
of his strength in reserve were counting strongly in 
his favor. Mott's face was dripping with perspira- 
tion, while it was seen that, though Will's hair was 
wet as he tossed it back from his forehead, he was not 
laboring nor suffering as was his opponent. 

The second set was closer, but was decided in Will's 
favor. He had a good lead in the third, when Foster, 
who was watching his room-mate closely, was con- 
vinced that he saw a change come over the expression 
of Will's face. Whether he was correct or not he did 
not know, but the third set was deuce, and when at 
last it came to an end the freshman had Avon it by a 
score of 9-7. The freshman contingent in the crowd 
enthusiastically cheered their classmate, but the fol- 
lowing set had not proceeded far before it was evident 
that Will Phelps was to win it. Mott returned the 
ball savagely and tried to lob, and then again would 
fiercely return, but his hand in a measure seemed to 
have lost its cunning, or his head the cooler judgment 
that was required, for the ball repeatedly was “ out- 
side," and the wildness of the freshman increased 
rather than decreased. 

There was an expression of sympathy in Will's eyes 
when Mott failed to return the last service of the 
junior and the contest had thus been decided in favor 


THE TOURNAMENT 


237 


of Will Phelps. Ignoring the cheers and unmindful 
of the crowd that rushed upon the court when it was 
announced that Phelps had won three of the five sets 
scheduled, and that Mott having declared that he 
would yield the unnecessary set which could have no 
effect upon the award, he stepped quickly toward the 
net to comply with the custom of shaking hands with 
his opponent and congratulating him upon the skill 
he had displayed in the contest. To his surprise, 
however, Mott had turned away, apparently ignoring 
the friendly overtures. Will glanced at his foe in 
surprise and then turned hastily back to his comrades. 
Uncertain whether or not the action of the freshman 
had been seen by others, he caught a glance of 
mingled anger and amusement from Foster, and then 
with a derisive shrug of his shoulders put his racquet 
in its case and prepared to return to his room. The 
congratulations of his friends were marvelously com- 
forting, and his heart was light when he and Foster 
as last were in their room. 

“ IPs great. Will,” Foster was saying warmly. 
“ How does it seem to be the champion tennis player 
of Winthrop?” 

“ I like it. Of course, I like it. But somehow, 
now that it has come it doesn’t seem to be so much, 
after all.” 

Foster laughed as he replied, “ You’re like 
Napoleon. He was but twenty-nine years old, Doctor 
Brown was telling us, when he declared that glory 
itself was insipid.” 


238 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ I’m not so bad as that,” laughed Will. “ If I 
had won, if I shall win, if I shall have won in the 
games with Alden and the other colleges, then I 
might be able to talk of your vanity of vanities. J ust 
now, though, it doesn’t look to me in just that light. 
It would be a great thing for Winthrop if I should 
happen to win next week, wouldn’t it ? But of course 
I sha’n’t.” 

“ There’s no ‘ of course ’ about it ! You’ll do your 
best and the whole college will be satisfied with that. 
You may win.” 

“ And I may not,” laughed Will lightly, though he 
was cheered by the candid words of his more sober- 
minded room-mate. “ Say, Foster,” he said abruptly, 
“ did you see what Mott did to-day ? ” 

“ See what ? ” 

“You know what I mean. He wouldn’t shake 
hands with me after the game.” 

“That’s worse for him than it is for you,” 
responded Foster soberly. 

“ But you saw him ? ” 

“ Yes, I saw him.” 

“ He hasn’t spoken to me for months.” 

“ You can stand that, can’t you ? What’s the mat- 
ter with the fellow, anyhow? He used to be very 
sweet on you.” 

“ He’s evidently lost his e crush.’ ” Will had never 
spoken to his room-mate of his suspicions, nor had he 
referred to his last interview with Mott. 

“ He’ll come around all right, that is, if you want 


THE TOURNAMENT 


239 


him to. I can’t say, for my part, I ever was very 
strongly drawn to him.” 

“ I liked him. I got so that I felt a little responsi- 
ble for him. I don’t know now how we’ll get along 
in our doubles. You see, we’ll have to play together, 
and somehow I can’t feel quite sure of him.” 

“The freshman will be tickled to do his best. 
You’ll just have to make him toe the mark, Will.” 

“ And even then I’m afraid of him.” 

“ You needn’t be.” Foster swung around on his 
chair and pulled open the top drawer of his desk. 
You’ll have to keep a strong hand on him,” he con- 
tinued. “ He’s showy but not steady. Great, 

g-r-e-a-t ” he broke in abruptly, an expression of 

astonishment creeping over his face. 

“ What’s up ? What’s wrong, Foster ? ” demanded 
Will, sitting quickly erect and staring in his astonish- 
ment at his friend. 

“Look there, will you, Will?” said Foster slowly 
and in a low voice, pointing, as he spoke, to the open 
drawer in front of him. 

Will bounded from his seat and eagerly peered into 
the place at which Foster was pointing. His aston- 
ishment was as great as his friend’s at what he saw, 
for there on top of some of the neatly folded papers 
was a gold watch, and lying near it was a crisp ten- 
dollar bill. 

“That’s yours, isn’t it, Foster?” said Will as he 
lifted the watch in his hand. 

“It certainly is,” replied Foster, as he took the 


240 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


watch and examined it. “ It’s mine, all right,” he 
added. 

“ Where do you suppose it came from ? ” 

"I haven’t the slightest idea.” 

“ It’s here, anyway.” 

“Yes, it’s here, and that’s the main thing.” 

“ It beats anything I ever heard of. And this ten- 
dollar bill too ! ” 

“ I think the fellow that took it had a conscience.” 

“ I guess not when he took it. He may have had 
afterward. At any rate, he’s brought back the 
watch and the bill too. Why, Foster, it’s just like 
picking up money in the street. I wish the fellow 
that took mine would bring it back too. Maybe he 
has ! ” he added excitedly, instantly turning to his 
own desk. A careful and thorough search, however, 
failed to reveal the presence of any restored valuables. 

“ Foster, I’ve an idea,” Will said slowly as he 
turned about and faced his room-mate. 

“ Hang onto it.” 

“ I mean to.” 

“ What is it?” 

“I’m going to hang onto it, just as you told me. 
Perhaps later I’ll explain it, but not now. I’m not 
used to such possessions.” 

Foster laughed, and the conversation ended, but 
the mystery of the return of the lost watch and money 
had not been explained when several days had elapsed, 
though meanwhile it had been a topic of frequent con- 
versation, at least on Foster’s part. As for Will, he 


THE TOURNAMENT 


241 


had not referred to the “ idea ” that had occurred to 
him at the time of the discovery of the watch in the 
drawer, but that it had not departed from his mind 
was evident even to Foster, who was thoroughly 
accustomed to all the moods of his room-mate. 

Meanwhile, the interest of the college in the 
approaching intercollegiate contest in tennis was 
steadily increasing. Six colleges were in the league, 
and for the first time since its formation the tourna- 
ment was to be held in Winthrop. Every one of the 
six colleges was to be represented in the “ singles” 
and “ doubles,” and many outside visitors, as well as 
students from the varjous colleges, were expected to 
be present. 

Daily Will Phelps and Mott had been practising, 
the best of the players in college being their willing 
victims. The freshman, though he had spoken to 
Will only when a word seemed to be necessary, had 
played not only brilliantly but steadily, and Will's 
hopes began to rise that the showing Winthrop would 
make in the “ doubles ” would bring no discredit upon 
the college. As for his own part in the “ singles,” 
his heart had many misgivings, but he kept his own 
counsel, practised daily, and awaited the coming of 
the eventful day with such patience as he was able to 
command. 

At last the evening preceding the eventful day had 
arrived. The little village was alive with visitors, and * 
the evening gave promise of an ideal day on the mor- 
row. The green upon the hillsides, the grass on the 
Q 


242 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


lawns in the college grounds, the flowers, the very 
leaves upon the trees, all seemed to have conspired 
to make the scene complete. 

Will Phelps, anxious but self-restrained, had gone 
alone to the post office, eager to forget for the moment 
the arrival of the steadily increasing crowd and his 
own feeling of anxiety in view of what was expected 
of him by the entire college on the following day. 

He had just turned from the office when he 
found himself face to face with Miss Stone. His sur- 
prise at the unexpected meeting — for he had not 
heard that she was to be among the visitors — was so 
great that he almost ignored the reproachful look she 
gave him. 

“ Why didn’t you come down to see me last evening, 
Mr. Phelps? And I sent for you too.” 

“ ( Sent for me ’ ! Why, I didn’t know you were in 
town. I didn’t know you expected to be.” 

“ Didn’t Alfred tell you ? Didn’t he give you my 
message?” she inquired in surprise. 

“He certainly did not.” 

“ I can’t understand it. He told me that he told 
you I was here.” 

Will fancied that he could “understand it” per- 
haps better than she, but her words plainly indicated 
at least that Mott had not told her of the break which 
had come in their own personal relations. 

As they walked up the street togeHa#, Will was 
almost unmindful of the dreaded fnprrow, so inter- 
ested was he in what Miss Stone was iS^mg. A light 


♦ 


# THE TOURNAMENT 


243 


reference of hers to her experience in the old well on 
the occasion of her former visit, caused him to say 
quickly/ “ Will you wait for me here on the corner ? 
Fve something in my room I want to — to show you.” 

“ Certainly,” replied Miss Stone, as Will bounded 
toward his room. 

As he came around the corner of the building he 
ran full upon Mott and another man, whom, in the 
dim light, he could not recognize, but he had heard 
with a sinking heart the words which Mott had been 
speaking. 

“ Bet your last dollar — your last cent — that we 
don^t win even the first set in the doubles ! Do it, I 
tell you ! ” Mott had repeated when a feeble protest 
had been made. “ I'm not so sure of the singles, but 
I know what I'm talking about in the doubles. Do 
what I tell you. Your last cent that we don't win a 


set.” 




CHAPTER XXV 


FEARS AND MISGIVINGS 

R ESTRAINING his first impulse, which was to 
stop and charge Mott with an intent to 
“ throw ” the doubles, Will Phelps dashed 
quickly past the two students and darted up the stair- 
way. He was confident that he had recognized Mott’s 
companion in crime as Morey, a freshman, who 
already had made an unenviable reputation as a 
“ sport,” to use the college vernacular, but the light 
had not been sufficiently clear to enable him to be 
positive. 

Anger and disgust were mingled in Will Phelps’ 
feelings. Mott deserved to be exposed to the entire 
college ! A more dastardly piece of work had not 
been known in all the annals of Winthrop. Was it 
possible that he had been mistaken ? Had he 
imputed a meaning to Mott’s words which the 
freshman did not deserve? Will had secured the 
manuscript for which he had come and had departed 
from his room, carefully closing the door behind him 
as he did so. For a moment he stood at the top of 
the stairway, uncertain what to do. As he thought 
over the words he had overheard it seemed to him 
they could have but one explanation. Mott had 
deliberately plotted to lose the dojibles. Perhaps his 

244 


. >• 


7 



FEARS AND MISGIVINGS 


245 


plot was entirely unnecessary, Will thought grimly, 
but if he was guilty, the transaction certainly branded 
him as one of the worst fellows that ever had entered 
Winthrop. 

Hesitating no longer, he started resolutely down 
the stairs. If Mott and Morey were still where 
they had been when he had passed them, he decided 
that he would stop for a moment and at least inform 
them that he was not ignorant of the plot they had 
formed. He was still excited and angry, but when he 
passed out from the building neither of the men was 



anywhere to be seen. 


His manuscript was in his hands, and quickly he 
ran to the place where he had left Miss Stone. As 
he approached, he could see that some one was talking 
to her, and as he drew nearer he discovered that it 
was Mott. The coming of Will, however, caused the 
freshman to depart hastily, and as Will took his 
place beside the young lady, and together they started 
up the street, he said : 

“ I ? m sorry I kept you waiting.” 

“ You didn’t, long, Mr. Phelps. Besides * had 
good company. Alfred came right after you left, and 
he has kept me laughing all the time. What a boy he 
is!” 

Will felt that he could join heartily in her 
expressed conviction, but he did not speak of his own 
feeling. “ How does Mott feel about the games ? 
Does he think we have any show ? You know he and 
I are together in the doubles.” 


246 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ He thinks you have a good chance to win.” 

“Does he?” said Will quickly. “Did he say 
that?” 

“ Yes. He isn’t sure that you will win both.” 

“ Strange he should have such a feeling as that,” 
laughed Will. “ I’m afraid it isn’t altogether original 
with him, for I’ve had some such thoughts myself. 
Which does he think we stand the better chance in — 
the singles or the doubles?” 

“ He said if it wasn’t for him you’d surely win the 
doubles. But he is afraid he won’t be able to keep 
up his part. He thinks you are a great tennis player, 
Mr. Phelps.” 

“That’s good of him. I hope he will do his full 
share.” 

“ Oh, he will. You needn’t have any fear about 
that. He says there may not be very much in him, 
but what there is he is going to make count.” 

“I hope he will,” said Will soberly. 

“ You don’t know Alfred,” said Miss Stone warmly. 
“ Of course, he isn’t much more than a boy, and he 
hasn’t had much experience, but I am sure he will do 
his very best. You must not be angry with him if he 
does not come fully up to your expectations, Mr. 
Phelps,” said Miss Stone softly. 

For a moment Will was silent, then he said quietly, 
“ I will tell you frankfy, Miss Stone, that I have some 
reasons that make me a little afraid. It isn’t what I 
may think or say, it is what the college will do if Mott 
should fizzle. Of course, it is as true of myself as it is 


FEARS AND MISGIVINGS 


247 


of him,” he hastily added, “ but I do want him to 
understand just what his selection means. If he suc- 
ceeds, nothing will be too good for him, and if he 
doesn’t, why, nothing will be too bad. If he does 
what the whole college knows is his best there won’t 
be any hard feeling, but if he doesn’t, then ” 

“ Then what ? ” broke in the young lady quickly. 

“ Why, you know as well as I do,” said Will a little 
uneasily. “ That’s the price a fellow has to pay for 
making the team.” 

“ Have you talked with him, Mr. Phelps ? ” 

“Not exactly. You see — I ” began Will in 

some confusion. 

“ Do you think it would do any good for me to say 
to him what you have said to me, and to urge him 
to do his very best ? ” 

“ I do ! I know it would ! ” replied Will eagerly. 
“ Only be sure and don’t let him know that any such 
suggestion came from me.” 

It was too dark to enable Will to perceive the smile 
that appeared on Miss Stone’s face, but they had now 
arrived at the house in which she was to stay, and as 
they approached the entrance Will said, “ I went up 
to my room to get something I should like to show 
you.” 

“ Come in, Mr. Phelps,” she responded. “ I shall 
be delighted.” 

“ If there is any one in the reception room I’ll just 
leave it with you after I have stayed a few minutes. 
You see, I have to be careful of my hours to-night,” 


248 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


he explained lightly. “ If there shouldn’t be any one 
in there then I would like to read it to you myself.” 

“ ‘ Bead it to me’? Is it a poem, Mr. Phelps ? ” 

“ Not exactly,” stammered Will in some confusion. 
“ It’s ” 

“ Well, here we are, anyway ! ” exclaimed the girl 
as they entered the hall. 

A glance at the reception room was sufficient to 
show that it was already occupied. Will Phelps 
turned to Miss Stone and said quickly, as he thrust a 
roll into her hand, “ I shall be glad to have you read 
it. Let me know to-morrow just exactly what you 
think of it. You’ll do that, won’t you ? ” 

“ Certainly, Mr. Phelps, though I don’t think my 
opinion will be of much value.” 

Will laughed lightly, and then they both entered 
the room. Their coming was hailed with pleasure, and 
the presence of the representative tennis player of 
Winthrop was the immediate cause of a multitude of 
questions concerning the outlook for the games, what 
he thought of the prospects, and similar queries. To 
them all Will responded that he was absolutely with- 
out any convictions on the subject. Indeed, he was 
doing his utmost to banish the thought of the games 
from his mind for the present in order that he might 
have all his thoughts on them on the coming day. 
And yet Will found the manifest interest and the 
place which he occupied in the thoughts of the com- 
pany wonderfully comforting to his own heart. The 
interest and implied praise were like a tonic, and his 


FEAKS AND MISGIVINGS 


249 


courage and determination to do his utmost to win 
were stronger than ever when, after an hour had 
elapsed, he arose to depart. 

As he stood near the entrance to the hall Mott 
came bounding into the room. His entrance was like 
the coming of a fresh breeze, and in a moment the 
entire assembly was laughing loudly at his droll 
remarks. Will had become quiet at the entrance of 
the freshman, but he had watched Mott, somewhat 
puzzled by the apparently unnatural animation that 
he was displaying. Once when he turned away from 
Mott he felt that Miss Stone was keenly regarding 
him, but as she too turned her eyes away when she 
perceived that she was being observed, he thought but 
little of it. 

“ You’re not like Phelps,” one of the students was 
saying to Mott. “ He’s going to leave us now to get 
some sleep. I don’t see that you are sleepy, Mott.” 

“I think Mr. Phelps will have his eyes open 
to-morrow,” said Mott, without glancing at his fellow- 
member of the tennis team. 

“ My eyes are open now,” said Will quietly. “ They 
have been open for more than an hour. The trouble 
is to close them.” 

“ Only an hour, Mr. Phelps ? ” laughed one of the 
girls. 

“ Wide open for that time,” responded Will. 

“ What do you see, Mr. Phelps ? ” inquired Mott in 
mock solemnity. One of the girls near the freshman 
giggled, but the room was still when Will said seri- 


250 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


ously. “ I see more than I wish I could see. I see 
what the fellows expect of me — and of Mott,” he 
added. 

“ They expect you both to do your best, Mr. Phelps, 
and I am sure they will not be disappointed,” said 
Miss Stone quickly. 

“ There was a fellow in college three — some time 
ago,” Will hastily corrected himself, “ who was 
accused of ‘ throwing ’ a game of basketball. He had 
been heard making an arrangement with another 
fellow who was a great sport to bet all he had and 
all he could get that Winthrop would lose.” 

“Did the college lose, Mr. Phelps?” said Miss 
Stone quickly. 

“No; but it wasn’t any fault of this fellow. He 
did his best to bring it about.” 

“ What happened to him ? ” inquired Mott. 

“ He left college. His health suddenly failed him. 
I think his eyes gave out,” said Will dryly. 

“ Mr. Phelps, if you ‘ throw ’ the game to-morrow 
I’ll never forgive you ! ” It was Miller’s sister who 
was speaking, and at her words all laughed except 
Miss Stone, who' was watching Will’s face intently. 

“Mr. Phelps, if you’ll watch me, I’ll watch you,” 
said Mott. The freshman’s face was inscrutable, and 
if the story Will had told had affected him, the 
result was not manifest in his voice or face. 

“ Why did you tell us that story ? ” 

It was Miss Stone who spoke, and something in her 
tone caused every one to turn and look at her. 


FEARS AND MISGIVINGS 


251 


“ It’s not a nice story, Miss Stone, I acknowledge,” 
said Will, facing her. “ I can’t tell you just why I 
spoke of it. A good many things are on a fellow’s 
mind just before a game. If you had been in Win- 
throp as long as I have you would understand how 
one feels when the college expects so much of him. 
He will do his best, but sometimes his best is not 

good enough. Then ” 

“ Then what ? ” demanded Miss Stone. 

“ Then sometimes they try to explain.” 

“ Who are ‘ tl^y ’ ? Who tries to explain ? ” 

Did she suspect the reason for his allusion to the 
former disgraced player? Will could not decide. 
Her face expressed her earnestness, but whether it was 
protest or fear that was uppermost in her thoughts 
was not plain. 

“ Oh, sometimes the fellows accuse a man of not 
doing his best,” said Will. 

“ Will they accuse you of that ? ” she demanded. 

"I shall try to prevent it.” 

“ Will they accuse Alfred of it? ” 

“ I hope not.” Will laughed as he spoke and tried 
to make light of the question, but his eyes sought 
Mott’s face. There was nothing there to enlighten 
him. Apparently Mott had not heard, for he was 
talking to a girl near .him. 

Will at once took his departure, but he was aware 
of a certain element of constraint, both in himself 
and among some of the company he had left in the 
house. There were moments when he accused him- 


252 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


self bitterly for having made any reference to the 
treachery of the basketball player. And yet there 
was need for something to be done. Mott must be 
made to understand clearly that if he had entered 
into any such rascally plan as to bring dishonor upon 
the name of Winthrop, his movements were already 
known. If, on the other hand, he had misjudged him, 
then the freshman would not be likely to make more 
of the relation of the incident than it warranted. It 
was Miss Stone herself, however, who troubled Will 
most of all as he thought over the words that had been 
spoken. Her quiet questions were certainly direct 
and fearless, but what was implied was difficult for 
him to conjecture. Did she suspect him of question- 
ing the honesty of her cousin ? Had his previous con- 
versation with her been such as to lead her to think 
that Mott was not to be relied upon? 

These questions and many similar ones were in 
Will’s thoughts as he walked slowly back to his room. 
Not even to Foster, whom he found waiting for him 
when he entered, did he confide his suspicions and 
fears, and soon he went to his bedroom and retired 
for the night. 

The longed-for morning arrived cloudless. Not a 
sound could be heard when Will first opened his eyes, 
but when his breakfast had been eaten, and in his 
white flannel suit, his jersey bearing the “ W.” 
which he had won two years before by his labors on 
the track team, he started toward the courts, there 
was excitement sufficient to inspire the most slug- 


FEAFS AND MISGIVINGS 


253 


gish. Rows of chairs surrounded the courts, college 
colors were much in evidence, parties of young people 
were laughing and chatting as they watched the 
sturdy representatives of the various colleges who 
were already on the courts engaged in preliminary 
practice, and the entire scene was one that deeply 
stirred Will’s heart. 

Glancing about the assemblage, he perceived Miss 
Stone in the midst of a group on one side of the court, 
and, taking a little banner, with its vivid “ W.” in the 
middle of the streamer, he at once sought her out and, 
bowing low, presented her with the emblem. To Will 
it seemed for the moment as if there was a lack of 
enthusiasm in her manner of receiving it, but a 
loud call for him compelled him to leave the group 
and at once prepare for the coming contest. 


CHAPTEK XXYI 


THE SINGLES 

T HE volleying and preliminary practice were soon 
ended and the games were about to begin. 
Three courts were to be used at the same time, 
and when the umpires had taken their seats in the 
chairs that had been placed on high stands or tables 
and all the drawings had been made, Will Phelps took 
his position to face the representative of Alden, for 
in the selection of lots it had come to pass that the 
two colleges that were the fiercest rivals and to one of 
which, doubtless, the championship would be awarded, 
had . been pitted against each other at the very 
beginning. 

Will glanced at his competitor and perceived that 
he was a tall, muscular fellow, sinewy and of a dark 
complexion. That his antagonist was a man of 
endurance was manifest in his wiry frame and 
bronzed arms and face. The general style of play 
which had won for himself the championship of 
Winthrop might not avail in the present contest Will 
quickly decided, and he eagerly watched the man, 
hoping soon to obtain an insight into his style and 
prepare himself to meet it. The quiet bearing of the 
Winthrop junior belied the nervous strain which he 
was undergoing, and many marked his apparent self- 
254 


THE SINGLES 255 

possession who had slight comprehension of the 
hidden fires. 

The word at last was given, and the umpire had 
barely called “Play ” before the Alden representative, 
who was to serve first, drove the ball swiftly down the 
court and Will was unable to return it. 

“ Were you ready, Mr. Phelps ? 99 inquired the 
umpire hastily. 

“ Yes, sir,” replied Will quietly. 

“ Fifteen love ! 99 called the umpire, recording the 
score. “ Outside ! 99 he shouted when Alden’s swift 
ball struck outside the lines on the next serve. 

The second ball was not served so swiftty, but when 
Will endeavored to return it he drove the ball into 
the net. 

“ Thirty love ! ” called the umpire, and a sigh 
arose from the Winthrop supporters, while the Alden 
contingent broke into applause. 

Again the players w T ere ready, and the Alden 
champion raised his long arm on high. With light- 
ning-like speed the ball was served, and as Will 
glanced at it, aware that he would be unable to return 
it, he did not even move in the attempt. The sigh of 
the Winthrop supporters became more audible as the 
umpire called out “ Forty love ! ” WilPs face was 
set and the grip of his hand upon his racquet became 
firmer, but otherwise he showed no signs of confusion. 
He was watching his contestant keenly, but despite 
his earnestness the first ball that was served he drove 
viciously into the net. 


256 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


There were shouts and the clapping of hands when 
the umpire said, " Game ! Love game ! First game 
for Alden ! ” 

Will heard a slender fellow, evidently, from his 
colors, an Alden man, turn to a young lady seated 
beside him and say, " I guess that is stinging them 
some ! Love game and not one service returned ! ” 

The words caused Will’s cheeks to flush slightly, 
but there was no trembling when he received the balls 
and prepared to serve. He had been watching his 
opponent and believed he had discovered some points 
he might use. His own service was not especially 
swift, though there was a "cut” in the ball which 
had proved very puzzling to some of his rivals in Win- 
throp. Whether or not it would avail with this man 
was a question that only a test could prove. 

The ball was quickly returned, and so active were 
the men that it flew back and forth over the net more 
than a dozen times before it was at last sent by the 
Alden player to a corner of the court where Will was 
unable to reach it, and, indeed, he made no attempt 
when he perceived its uselessness. 

"Love fifteen,” shouted the umpire. 

Will had almost ceased to be aware of the presence 
of the spectators. His attention was absorbed in 
watching the cat-like movements of the Alden player, 
whose agility certainly was marvelous. For the 
second time Will prepared to serve, and his first ball 
was promptly declared to be "outside.” When the 
next ball followed the exact course of its predecessor 


THE SINGLES 


257 


and the score became “ love thirty ” the despondency 
of the Winthrop supporters became almost as great 
as the elation of the Alden crowd. 

Again Will served, this time swiftly, but the ball 
was promptly returned and there was another long 
series of returns which finally ended in Will securing 
the point. “ Fifteen thirty,” called the umpire, and 
the applause of the Winthrop supporters instantly 
became vociferous. Again Will Phelps heard the 
Alden youth remark to his companion, “ Great, isn’t 
it? Don’t wonder the Winthrop fellows are wild! 
They have won one point out of eight. If they keep 
it up they will be happy ! ” 

Will’s teeth came firmly together and he glanced 
about over the assembly for the first time since the 
game had begun. He could see Miss Stone standing 
in front of her chair and watching him eagerly. 
Foster was beside her and his face too was a study. 
Near them was Doctor Brown, and his interest in the 
contest was plainly as keen as that of any one present. 
Will’s heart throbbed as he turned to make his next 
play. He realized how much was expected of him, 
and the determination to increase his efforts became 
stronger. 

His service for the first time seemed to puzzle the 
Alden player, for he had darted quickly forward as 
Will’s racquet struck the ball, but the ball had 
bounded away from him and he had been unable to 
reach it. He swung his racquet angrily as he turned 
and walked back to his position, while the applause 

R 


258 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


of Winthrop seemed to annoy him slightly. Will was 
aware, however, that all this meant only the need of 
greater caution on his own part, and he was slow as 
he served the next ball. This was swiftly returned, 
only to be sent back by Will to the extreme corner of 
the court, but the agility of the Alden player was 
marvelous, and he sent the ball back again with a 
stroke that brought forth the applause of all the 
spectators. His main purpose seemed to be to make 
a swift return, while Will, cool now and collected, 
played to make his competitor work. First in the 
rear of the court and then near the net he sent the 
ball, compelling his opponent to exert himself to the 
utmost as he raced back and forth. His efforts, how- 
ever, seemed to avail but little, for the next two points 
were won by his opponent, and the score stood two 
to nothing in games in Alden’s favor. 

When it once more came Will’s turn to receive he 
stepped farther back, and as the swift ball came 
toward him he returned it neatly, placing it just 
beyond the other man’s reach in the back part of the 
court. A second attempt met with a similar success, 
and then Will “ lobbed ” and lost three points. There 
was an unusually long contest over the final point, 
but Alden won it at last and the score was three to 
nothing in her favor. 

In the fourth game Will repeated his tactics and 
won, but the next three games, though more fiercely 
fought, were won by Alden, and the first set ended by 
the score of six to one. 



“ When it once more came Will’s turn 
to receive he stepped farther back.'’ 

Page 258. 












* 









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. 


HI I ffir 













































i 




THE SINGLES 


259 


There was no interval before the second set was 
begun. Will was playing with caution and was satis- 
fied that he was compelling his opponent to work 
much more than he himself was. His own strength 
he was husbanding as much as was possible. Every 
game was long-drawn-out, and though the Alden 
player won the second set also, the score many a 
time had been deuce, and when the set was ended it 
was evident to all that the endurance of the man was 
being sorely tried. Only one more set, however, was 
required by him to win the contest; and that his 
opponent might have endurance to be able to play 
that successfully, Will greatly feared. 

“ What do you say, Mr. Phelps ? ” said his oppo- 
nent as he approached the net. “ Shall we take a 
little breathing spell before we go on?” 

“ I don’t care for it myself,” laughed Will. “ If 
you want it I’m willing.” 

“ It can’t be done ! ” said the umpire quickly. 
“ It’s against the rules.” 

“ All right. I’m ready, then,” said the Alden 
player, dancing back to his position. “ I didn’t know 
but Mr. Phelps was tired.” 

“ I’m just preparing to begin,” retorted Will with 
a laugh. “ Eeady ! ” And with a swift stroke he 
sent the ball into his opponent’s court. He could hear 
the Alden spectator, whose former words he had 
heard, say, “ It’s all over but the shouting. I really 
thought the Winthrop fellow could play a little from 
the reports, but we’ve got five freshmen who could do 


260 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


him up. Look at that, will you ! ” he added as the 
representative of his college stooped low and 
“ scooped 99 the ball which Will had served and sent it 
over Wilks head and yet within the court. 

There was a protest on the part of some of the 
spectators, who noisily declared that the ball had not 
been returned upon its first bound. The game was 
delayed a few minutes and the dispute waxed warm 
until Will advanced and said, “ It’s all right, Mr. 
Umpire, I haven’t protested. Let it go.” 

"Very well,” replied the relieved official. “Love 
fifteen.” 

There was an expression of determination in the 
eyes of the Alden player as he quickly faced Will, but 
the face of the Winthrop player did not betray any 
change. He was playing the same steady game that 
had been his from the start, and a feeling of intense 
relief came to him when he won the third set by the 
score of eleven to nine. It had been desperately 
fought and both players were showing the effect of the 
struggle when it came to an end, though it was mani- 
fest to all that the Alden man was laboring harder 
than his opponent. 

The next set fell to Will with a score of seven to 
five. The delight of the Winthrop supporters broke 
forth in songs, and Will turned to glance at the Alden 
youth who had so confidently predicted the speedy 
downfall of Winthrop. He could see that he was 
troubled, for the expression of his face had changed 
and he was no longer talking to the young lady by his 


THE SINGLES 


261 


side. Will Phelps repressed the smile that rose to his 
lips and turned to the game once more, aware that it 
still was too early to prophesy the outcome. 

The Alden player roused himself and won the next 
game, and then the two that followed were won by 
Will. Again the Alden player, his face almost purple 
from his exertions and his hair as wet as if he had 
been plunged in water, responded to the appeals of 
his fellows and won. 

“ Deuce,” whispered the now excited assembly. No 
one was seated now, and all were crowding close to 
the lines. Miss Stone was in the front row, and as 
Will observed her excitement and saw her nod her 
head two or three times very decidedly at him, he 
laughed and swung himself about on his heel as if 
new life had been given him. The unexpected endur- 
ance of the Alden player was somewhat disconcerting, 
and Will’s respect for his skill was even stronger than 
when the game had begun. He certainly was a bril- 
liant player, abounding in strokes that brought the 
spectators to their feet with shouts of approval, and 
Will Phelps clearly understood that he himself might 
lose through one of these startling strokes of his oppo- 
nent. It was brilliancy against steadiness, he assured 
himself, and, come what might, he must hold himself 
under control to the very end. 

The bitterness of defeat crept into his heart when 
the next game went to Alden. The applause of his 
opponent’s supporters and the noisy plaudits of his 
own friends, who were striving to put heart into their 


262 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


representative, sounded but faintly in his ears. His 
tongue was dry and his mouth seemed parched. 
Eesolutely he faced his adversary, and as he watched 
him it seemed to Will that he himself was the fresher 
of the two. He decided to play a swift game, and his 
spirits rose when the set went to him. The advantage 
was on his side, and grimly he decided that he would 
exert himself as never he had before. If he could 
only win this game ! He was thinking less of his own 
success than of what it would mean to the college if 
he should win. And this one game might decide. 

Evidently the Alden man was of a similar mind, 
for he threw himself desperately into the game and 
won it, so that once more the players were on even 
terms. The shouts and songs of the spectators 
redoubled, but Will was aware only of the Alden 
youth who had so confidently predicted the downfall 
of Winthrop. His face was almost livid, but he was 
silent, and Will smiled with satisfaction. 

The game that followed was another that was long- 
drawn-out, but as it went to Will by a score of nine to 
seven he was content and determined desperately to 
make the coming game his if careful playing would 
win. He resolved to change his method of playing 
again, but the first point, amidst great excitement, 
went to Alden. Still, he was determined to continue, 
and the next three points were his own. Only one 
point now remained between him and victory. Hot a 
sound could be heard from the spectators. Grimly 
the two players faced each other, ready to take advan- 


THE SINGLES 


263 


tage of any slip. Carefully Will served the ball and 
carefully his opponent returned it. Brilliant plays 
were not to be thought of now. With every ball that 
safely sped over the net and landed within the lines 
a sigh of relief escaped the lips of the players’ sup- 
porters. Will’s eyes never left his opponent’s move- 
ments. With great care he had by his returns drawn 
him nearer the net, and yet he knew he must not draw 
him too near, for a “slam” might be destructive. 
Three times he had returned the ball, each successive 
time succeeding in luring the man on. Then sud- 
denly, and he never could explain just how it 
occurred, he raised his racquet, smote the ball with 
all his strength, and sent it swiftly down the court 
close to the lines. His adversary leaped for it, 
stretched forth his hand unavailingly, dropped his 
arm and, looking down upon the ground, shook his 
head, for the contest was ended and Winthrop had 
won. 


CHAPTER XXVII 


THE DOUBLES 

H ARDLY aware of the din that followed his last 
stroke, a smile for a moment spread over the 
face of Will Phelps and then it quickly van- 
ished. Quietly he stepped forward to the net and 
grasped the outstretched hand of his opponent. The 
keen disappointment of the Alden player could not 
be entirely concealed, but his words were cordial as he 
said: 

"I congratulate you, Mr. Phelps, with all my 
heart.” 

“ Thank you,” responded Will warmly. “You 
made me work for it.” 

“ I certainly tried to.” 

“If you had succeeded in the game as well as in 
that particular I should be the one to congratulate 
you,” laughed Will. “You certainly did put up a 
great game.” 

“The more honor, then, to you.” 

“ That wasn’t a very modest remark of mine, was 
it?” said Will. “But you know what I meant. Of 
course, I’m glad I won, but I honestly am sorry that 
my winning has cut you out from a chance for the 
second cup.” 

“ First or nothing for me, thank you.” 

264 


THE DOUBLES 


265 


Will turned about, for his fellow-students were now 
upon him in full force. His hand was shaken till it 
seemed to him that it was almost numb. The praise, 
however, was sweet, and Will was learning the mean- 
ing of the proverb that “ nothing succeeds like suc- 
cess.” He was a hero in the eyes of his fellows, and 
the recognition of his winning for a time was the 
overmastering thought in his mind. The crowd was 
dispersing, some going to the other courts to watch 
the contests there, and others turning into the street 
that led back to the colleges. Will had donned his 
sweater, and as he perceived Miss Stone and Mott 
talking to Doctor Brown not far away, he at once 
joined them. 

There was a vague feeling of uneasiness in his 
mind when Mott turned away at his approach and 
without a word started for the near-by court appar- 
ently to watch the game that was in progress there. 
Disguising the feeling, however, Will listened to the 
enthusiastic words of Miss Stone and the more quietly 
spoken praise which the young professor gave him. 

"It isn’t ended yet,” laughed Will lightly. "I 
have two others to play, you know.” 

“ You’ll win them ! You must win them both ! ” 
said Miss Stone. 

“ I shall try.” 

Doctor Brown smiled but did not speak as he 
turned away, and Will and his companion joined the 
assembly that was watching one of the other games. 
Will was silent for a time as he carefully observed 


266 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


the style of play of the man who was in the lead. An 
expression of satisfaction appeared in his face which 
Miss Stone was quick to see. 

“ You think you can win from him ? 55 she inquired 
in a low voice. 

“ I can tell later / 5 

“ I can tell now. I am sure you can do it.” 

Her confidence was inspiring, but Will did not 
reply. 

“ I read your story last night / 5 said Miss Stone* 

“Did you ? 55 inquired Will eagerly, looking up as 
she spoke. 

“Yes. Don’t you want my opinion of it ? 55 

“I most certainly do . 55 

“ I think it is good. It is more than good. It is 
excellent . 55 

“You really think so ? 55 

“ My friends often inform me that I am not given 
to flattery . 55 

“ I know you are not. That was one reason why I 
wanted you to see it. It really is as much yours as 
mine, you know . 55 

“I merely made suggestions. You carried them 
out. You made me feel that the walls of that old 
house were speaking to me and describing some of 
the scenes they had witnessed. It was a poem in 
prose . 55 

Will’s heart was light in spite of a particularly 
brilliant stroke of the winning player. He had writ- 
ten of the forsaken ruined house where Miss Stone 


THE DOUBLES 


267 


had met with her mishap in the preceding antumn. 
He had pictured the scenes and struggles of the 
earlier days, described the life of its possible inmates, 
the loneliness of the deserted homestead, and when he 
had been writing there had been visible to him not 
only in imagination what might have occurred in the 
earlier days but what had actually occurred in his 
own experiences in the place. 

“ Would you publish it? I mean,” he added has- 
tily and in some confusion, “ would you give some 
magazine the opportunity to increase its sale and 
enlarge its influence by being permitted to use it ? ” 

“ I certainly should.” 

“ I had thought of letting Doctor Brown read it,” 
suggested Will. 

“ Don’t do it.” 

“ Why not?” 

The girl hesitated a moment. “ I can’t just tell 
you why, but I shouldn’t do it. Keep the manuscript 
awhile if you want to, and go over it again and 
again, but don’t tell a soul about it. If I am mis- 
taken, and no one wants it, then no harm has been 
done. If it is really good, as I think it is, then the 
surprise and pleasure of those who may read it for 
the first time in the magazine will be all the greater, 
and the more honor you will have, Mr. Phelps.” 

Will made no reply, for the contest they had been 
watching was ended. Mott came to claim his cousin, 
and in her presence he spoke to Will, but made no 
reference to the defeat of the Alden player. The Win- 


268 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


throp representative apparently ignored the fresh- 
man and at once returned to his rooms, which were 
not far from the court. Before he changed his cloth- 
ing he went to his desk, took out the manuscript from 
his pocket, for Miss Stone had given it back to him, 
directed an envelope to the editors of the “ Mogul 
Magazine/’ and quickly set forth for the post office, 
to whose care the letter was committed. 

Then Will returned to his room, and when he had 
taken his bath and arrayed himself in another suit 
of flannel, threw himself upon his bed. In a few 
minutes Foster came bounding into the room and, 
as he perceived his friend, he exclaimed hastily, 
“ What’s the trouble, Will ? Sick ? ” 

“ Not a bit. I’m just giving my nerves a chance 
to recuperate. Let’s see, it’s six less beats to a min- 
ute, isn’t it, that a fellow’s heart makes when he is 
lying down than when he is standing up ? I learned 
that when I was on the track team. It’s a matter of 
nerve almost as much as of muscle, and if you give 
your nerves a chance to pick up, they’ll stand by you 
all the better.” 

“ That’s right. It’s a pity, Will, you aren’t on the 
track team this year.” 

“ Hardly,” laughed Will. “ There’s a good deal in 
a fellow finding out what he can’t do as well as what 
he can, and acting accordingly.” 

“ But you made your ‘ W.’ in freshman year, Will,” 
protested Foster. 

“ Yes, I happened to.” 


THE DOUBLES 


269 


“You didn’t c happen’ to; you worked for it and 
won it.” 

“ Well, perhaps I did. But I couldn’t give it the 
time this year. I don’t believe in a fellow going in 
unless he goes in for all he is worth.” 

“ You puzzle me. You take up one thing and work 
it hard, and then you drop it and take up something 
else. I have to stick to one thing.” 

“ That’s the way to do, old man. You made the 
track team in your freshman year, and are on it this 
spring. Next year you’ll be captain.” 

“ Nonsense.” 

“ You’ll see. I couldn’t keep on with three things. 
I had to drop something, so I thought I’d let the track 
team go. I’d got my ‘ W.’ by it.” 

“ You ought to think of the college as well as of 
yourself, Will.” Foster spoke eagerly, for his heart 
was centered on the work of the track team. 

“I did, Foster. I did, honestly. If there hadn’t 
been any other sprinters I’d have dropped the tennis 
and stuck to the team. But there are three or four 
men, all in the same class. Any one has just as good a 
chance as the others. Now, in tennis, you see ” 

“ Oh, yes, I see,” interrupted Foster. “ It may be 
all right, but I wish you had gone in for the track 
team, all the same. What was the third thing, Will ? 
You said there were three.” 

“ Did I ? Oh, well, the track team was one, tennis 
made two, and the third — well, I guess I won’t men- 
tion the third.” 


270 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ You don’t have to. I think we all can guess.” 

“ What is it?” 

“ We’ll ask Miss Stone if we can’t find out any 
other way.” 

“ You’re away off, old man ! ” exclaimed Will 
warmly, his face flushing as he spoke. 

“Am I? All right, then, I am. You play this 
afternoon, Will ? ” 

“ Yes. They’re rushing the games. I wish P was 
over,” said Will dejectedly. 

“ What ? After beating Alden ? ” 

“ That’s just it. All the fellows expect me to take 
the cup now just because I did win from Alden. No 
man knows what sort of a proposition I may run up 
against to-day or to-morrow.” 

“ There ! There ! ” laughed Foster. “ Keep your 
nerve. You’re all right and you know it. Hold on, 
Will; I’m going to read you something I found 
to-day.” And as his friend did not protest, Foster 
read aloud a rather pleasing story he had found in 
one of the current magazines. For a time it served 
the purpose in his mind of keeping his room-mate’s 
thoughts from the coming contests. How well his 
work succeeded he soon discovered from the sounds 
that came from the bed, on which Will Phelps was 
fast asleep. 

It may have been the sleep, or his skill, or the com- 
bination of both that aided Will Phelps that after- 
noon and on the following morning, for his oppo- 
nents were unable to stand before him, and in the 


THE DOUBLES 


271 


semi-finals and finals he won easily. Winthrop had, 
therefore, won in the singles, and the enthusiasm was 
great. 

The interest then centered in the coming contests 
in doubles. The misgivings in WilPs heart were not 
removed by his companion player, for Mott still main- 
tained his air of indifference when he and Will stood 
ready to begin their first game. They had drawn as 
opponents the weakest team — at least it was so looked 
upon in the list — and yet though Winthrop won the 
game, it was by such a small margin that the fears of 
her supporters had several times been greatly wrought 
up. There had been no open display on Mott’s part 
of any deliberate intention to “ throw ” the game, 
but he had repeatedly disregarded the suggestions of 
his comrade and appeared to be intent only upon dis- 
playing his own skill, apparently being unmindful of 
all team work. 

Will, who was weary when the sets for the day 
were ended, and his nerves tingling, did not know 
that it was the time of all times in which he ought to 
“ set a watch upon the door of his lips.” He was 
irritated and angry, and when the crowd had 
departed he put his racquet in its case, and going over 
to Mott said gruffly, “ Mott, I want you to come 
with me.” 

There was malice or alarm in the freshman’s eyes 
as he looked up into WilPs face, but he made no pro- 
test, and obediently walked beside the junior as 
together they departed from the grounds. 


272 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ Look here, Mott,” said Will brusquely, “ I’m not 
satisfied with the way you played this morning.” 

“ Aren’t you, Mr. Phelps ? ” Mott’s voice was low, 
but to Will’s imagination it seemed as if there was a 
touch of malice in it. 

“ No, I’m not. Will you brace up or not ? ” 

“ One cannot do better than his best.” 

“ Sometimes one doesn’t do his best.” 

“ You think I didn’t?” 

“ That’s just what I think.” 

“ Perhaps you’ll tell me why I didn’t.” The 
expression upon the freshman’s face had not changed 
and his voice was still low. 

“ There’s a reason for everything, and so there 
must be one for this.” 

“ Please tell me what it is, Mr. Phelps.” 

“ You know it as well — better than I.” 

“ I’ll tell you one thing, Mr. Phelps. I’m done.” 

“ What do you mean ? ” 

“Just what I say. I’ll not play another game 
with you.” 

“ Yes, you will ! ” exclaimed Will, who now had 
lost control of himself. “ Yes, you will, and you will 
do well too, or the whole college will know what only 
you and I and one other fellow know now.” 

Mott’s face was turned full upon Will, but there 
still was no change in its expression. “ Is that what 
you wanted to say to me, Mr. Phelps ? ” 

“ Yes.” 

Mott made no response, nor did Will speak again 


THE DOUBLES 


273 


before the freshman turned and went alone up the 
street. There were misgivings in Will’s thoughts as 
he entered his room. He had indirectly charged the 
freshman, if not directly, with throwing the game. 
Perhaps he had done wrong, but he tried to persuade 
himself that heroic measures were required and he 
could do no other. He was confident, however, that 
his words would prove effective and Mott would do 
better in the coming contest of the afternoon. And 
with this thought in his mind he came to the grounds 
at half-past two o’clock, when the games were to be 
resumed. 

As he stood in the assembly, Miss Stone came hur- 
riedly forward and handed Will a note. Ignoring the 
anxiety she displa}^ed, he tore open the letter and in 
a moment looked up in blank dismay. 


s 


CHAPTER XXVIII 


AN UNEXPECTED LETTER 

W HAT does this mean?” demanded Will 
almost fiercely. 

The young lady looked at him for a 
moment as if she were too surprised to reply. Her 
face colored slightly as she said quietly, “ I do not 
know, Mr. Phelps. Alfred wanted me to give you 
the note, and I have done so.” 

“ I beg your pardon,” responded Will humbly. “ I 
spoke as I ought not to, but — but. Miss Stone, do you 
know what is in this — this note ? ” 

“ I have not seen it.” 

“ Where is Mott now ? ” 

“ He was in the house when I left.” 

“ Please read that, Miss Stone,” said Will, as he 
held forth the letter. 

“ Is it something I ought to see ? ” she inquired, 
hesitating for a moment. 

“ Indeed it is. I want you to see it, anyway.” 

The girl took the envelope and, removing its con- 
tents, read on a little slip of paper these words: 

I hereby certify that Alfred Mott is suffering from 
a sprained ankle, and by my directions he will not 
attempt to play in the tennis games for several days 
to come. George W. Jenkins, M. D. 

274 


AN UNEXPECTED LETTER 275 

Will watched Miss Stone’s face closely, and the 
expression of surprise that crept over it as she read, 
clearly indicated that she had no previous knowledge 
of the “ mishap ” that had befallen her cousin. 

“ It is too bad,” she said slowly, as she handed the 
paper back to him. “ What will you do now ? 99 

Will smiled a little bitterly as he said, “ I confess 
I am not surprised, for he gave me warning of this 
very thing last night. At first I was all upset, but 
I’ll have to do the best I can. Nobody yet ever heard 
me whine.” 

He turned away somewhat abruptly, and so did not 
perceive the expression of trouble and perplexity 
which followed him. Quickly he sought out the man- 
ager and showed the physician’s certificate to him. 
There was a hasty consultation, and then it was 
decided that Bonnett, who was the first substitute of 
the team, should take Mott’s place. 

The change of players and perhaps also the feeling 
of indignation in the heart of Will Phelps, for he had 
no sympathy with Mott in his “ accident,” did not 
add to the effectiveness of the work in the doubles. 
Bonnett lunged and leaped and struck the ball so 
vigorously that it was sent far outside the lines more 
frequently than it landed within the court, and when 
the semi-finals had been played the Winthrop team 
was among the losers. 

The sting of defeat was always exceedingly difficult 
for Will to bear, but there was a measure of relief in 
the feeling among the students that he had success- 


276 


WINNING SIS DEGREE) 


fully upheld the honor of the college by winning the 
singles, and that the failure to do better in the 
doubles was entirely due to the substitution which 
Mott’s accident had compelled. 

The interest in the games was mostly gone now for 
Will, and after he had watched the finals till it was 
evident to all that Alden would win, he turned away 
from the courts and joined Miss Stone, who had 
started down the street. 

“ I’m going down to see Mott,” said Will. “ He’ll 
want to hear how the games came out.” 

“ I wish you would tell me what the trouble is, Mr. 
Phelps.” 

“ What trouble ? ” 

“ The trouble with Alfred.” 

“ Doctor Jenkins declared it to be a sprained 
ankle.” 

“ That isn’t what I mean.” 

Will’s face clouded for a moment, and then he said, 
endeavoring to speak lightly, “ I’m afraid I can’t do 
that.” 

“Do }^ou know?” 

How persistent the girl was. Will did not speak 
for a moment. He was thinking of the time when 
he had taken her to the foot-ball game with Alden, 
and how Mott had “explained” the points of the 
game to her. A smile crept over his face as he 
thought of her confidence and how she had described 
the “touchdown” and the “wayback” and how the 
men ran with the goal. What a different impression 


AN UNEXPECTED LETTER 


277 


she had made then as contrasted with his later knowl- 
edge of her. How quiet she had been when she had 
fallen into the old well. And how sensible her criti- 
cisms of his literary work had been. She was a friend 
worth having, he thought. 

“ Was it something I don’t need to trouble myself 
about?” she inquired eagerly, as she saw the light 
in his eyes. 

Will’s first impression was that it was best not to 
let this warm-hearted girl trouble herself over the 
shortcomings of her graceless young cousin. Why 
should she know? A second thought, and the more 
generous one, was that there was no one who could 
do for Mott what she herself could do. He himself, 
in spite of his loss of confidence in the freshman, still 
believed the fellow not to be altogether bad, and even 
then he recalled what Miss Stone had told him of the 
surroundings and influences Mott had. It would be 
hard for her, and yet would she herself not want to 
know? 

The more generous impulse prevailed, and he said 
soberly, “ Miss Stone, there is something, but I can’t 
explain it to you.” 

“Why not?” she demanded quickly. 

“ There has been a break between Mott and myself, 
and the reason for it— perhaps he has said some- 
thing to you about it ? ” he broke in. 

“Hot a word. He still sings your praises.” 

“ He does ? ” said Will in surprise. 

“ He certainly does. I could see that you thought 


278 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


there was something wrong, but he hasn’t said a word 
about that or any change in his relations with you. 
t)f course, that night when you spoke of the man who 
purposely made Winthrop lose the basket-ball game 
I saw you were troubled and suspicious, and at first 
I was indignant. Since then I have been more 
troubled than angry, and I knew you were not alto- 
gether surprised that he should have had the misfor- 
tune to sprain his ankle before the games in the 
doubles were ended. Will you tell me why, Mr. 
Phelps?” 

“ I can’t do that,” replied Will, shaking his head. 
"You know I can’t. It wouldn’t be fair to Mott. 
But I’ll tell you what will be better yet. At least I 
believe it will.” 

“What’s that?” 

“ For you to ask Mott about it yourself. If he 
wants to explain some things to you it will be all 
right.” 

“ And I can then tell you ? ” 

“Yes, if you think it best — and Mott agrees.” 

“ What creatures you men are ! ” said Miss Stone 
thoughtfully. “ You stand by your worst enemy if 
some one else tries to harm him.” 

“Mott isn’t my worst enemy.’ 

“ I was not thinking of him. You have lost confi- 
dence in him, I can see that very plainly ” She 

paused as if to give Will an opportunity to deny, but 
he did not speak, and she continued, “ You have lost 
confidence in Alfred. I know you have. You don’t 


AN UNEXPECTED LETTER 


279 


say so, but you can’t hide it. Yet when I ask you 
why, you answer me never a word.” 

“ Ask Mott,” suggested Will, with a smile. 

“ That’s just what I’m going to do,” she replied 
decisively. “ And I hope, Mr. Phelps, that I shall be 
able to explain it all to you so that you and he will be 
good friends again. He has such a feeling of admira- 
tion for you ! Why, do you know, I think he believes 
that man may have been made a little lower than the 
angels, but that in your case it was but a very little 
lower.” The demure expression of her mouth and 
her words of praise caused Will to laugh, for this was 
the one line that never failed to rouse him. He was 
no braggart, he certainly was not aggressively self- 
assertive, but his imagination was keen and his 
impulses strong, so that any praise he chanced to 
receive always acted like a stimulant upon him. 

“ I wish others had the same opinion of me.” He 
looked down upon her as he spoke. 

She laughed and said, “ It’s a great deal better for 
you that they don’t see any signs of the angelic. Hot 
the slightest.” 

" Oh, well, it’s better to be a man than an angel. 
In fact, I can’t ever think of a man as being an angel, 
anyway. It’s always a wo ” 

“ It’s better to be a man before he’s an angel, any- 
way,” interrupted the girl. 

"Doesn’t the Bible tell of men and angels? 
Doesn’t that show that only one part of humanity can 
ever hope to become angelic ? ” 


280 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ That reminds me of something my pastor told me 
the other day about a good woman in our church and 
the way she interpreted the Bible. She had a boy, 
and, like all parents, she couldn’t be an honest judge 
of her own child ” 

“Do you believe that?” interrupted Will. 

“ Most assuredly I do. Parents simply can’t be 
candid about their own children. They are prejudiced 
by the very fact that they are the parents. Well, this 
poor woman wanted her boy to become a preacher, 
and she was so persistent about it that finally in all 
kindness Doctor Brigham was compelled to tell her 
frankly that the boy lacked the capacity. Now what 
do you suppose she said?” 

“ I can’t imagine.” 

“ Why, she said * she had read her Bible through a 
great many times and she had never seen anywhere in 
it the command that a minister must have capacity, 
and she always took the Bible for just what it said. 
She knew her boy wasn’t very bright, but it didn’t 
say brightness was necessary.’ ” 

“ And do you mean to infer that when I spoke of 
‘men and angels’ I was quoting a good deal as this 
woman did?” said Will laughingly. 

“ I’m afraid you are not the only one,” she 
answered soberly. “ It means so much to me that I 
can’t bear to have any one take the husks and leave 
the kernel.” 

They had now arrived at the house, and upon Miss 
Stone’s invitation Will entered and went with her up 


AN UNEXPECTED LETTER 


281 


to the room where Mott had been staying that morn- 
ing. They found him seated in a chair, with his foot 
bound and swathed upon a foot-rest in front of him. 
The freshman greeted his visitors quietly, but did not 
even refer to his failure to appear or inquire as to the 
winners in the doubles. 

When Will departed he was more perplexed than 
ever he had been by the freshman, who sometimes 
drew and sometimes repelled him. What Miss Stone 
had told him of his feelings and expressions concern- 
ing the junior whom he had so greatly admired in the 
earlier part of the year touched Will strangely, and 
yet he could not reconcile these with some of his own 
observations. 

The mystery was not cleared either, by any report 
which Miss Stone made. If she had spoken to Mott 
concerning the estrangement she did not refer to any- 
thing that had been said, and when she departed for 
home she left Will even more puzzled. Kindly, frank, 
evidently friendly she had been to him, but not a 
word did she speak about the subject that apparently 
had been so dear to her heart. 

As for Mott, Will seldom saw him. He recovered 
from his accident so rapidly that Wilks suspicions 
were confirmed rather than relieved. But the junior 
year soon drew to a close. Miss Stone returned for 
the commencement exercises, and Will saw much of 
her while she was in Winthrop, but Mott was a topic 
that by common consent was tabooed. 

In the summer vacation Will had persuaded his 


282 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


father and mother to go for the month of August to a 
quiet resort on the shores of Lake George. The fact 
that Miss Stone was spending the summer in the same 
place apparently was not a surprise to Will Phelps, 
and that Mott should be there too did not startle him. 

There were picnics and excursions of various kinds, 
so that the summer days were all filled. One morn- 
ing, when the month of August was well advanced, 
Will had stopped for his mail at the office as he was 
about to join Miss Stone in his canoe. His double 
paddle was in his hand as he stood opening the mis- 
sive he had received, which was written in a hand that 
seemed very familiar. He tore open the envelope, 
and his face beamed and his heart began to beat 
rapidly as he read the following brief letter. 

Winthrop, Aug. 25th. 

My Dear Phelps : 

As you will note by ‘the heading, I am still in Win- 
throp — planning and perhaps plotting for the incom- 
ing seniors. I cannot forego the pleasure, however, 
in the midst of my busy-ness, of writing to congratu- 
late you on your article in the September “ Mogul 
Magazine/’ I have enjoyed it, every word. Perhaps 
I should not call your conception a new one, but it is 
fresh, which is even better. 

Sincerely, 

Paul E. Brown. 

As Will glanced up from the letter he perceived 
Miss Stone approaching, and in her hand was a copy 
of the “ Mogul Magazine.” 




CHAPTER XXIX 

A CALL BY BONNETT 

T HERE was an expression of deep interest on Miss 
Stoners face, and mingled with it was a smile of 
amusement as she perceived how excited Will 
was, as she greeted him on his approach. 

“ I thought it would be a good thing to take a 
magazine along with us in our canoe this morning,” 
she said demurely. 

“ Have you seen it ? How did you know ? Who 
told you? Let me see it, please!” replied Will 
excitedly. “ I wonder if there are any for sale in the 
hotel,” he hastily added as he started quickly toward 
the news-stand. 

“Here is a copy. You don’t need to buy any 
more.” 

But Will was too strongly aroused to heed her 
words. He found four copies on the stand, and at 
once purchased them all. With the bundle in his 
hands he hastily rejoined his friend, and immediately 
they seated themselves on a sofa in the reception 
room and began to pore over the pages. 

It certainly seemed to Will Phelps as if it was the 
crowning moment of his life. The familiar expres- 
sions he had used, and over which he had toiled with 
such care, took on a fresh meaning as they stared at 

283 


284 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


him from the printed pages. And the fame that 
would be his ! Unconsciously he thought of the lists 
of names he had seen on the pages of the “ Mogul 
Magazine,” and now his was among them ! And the 
article would be seen and read by his friends. How 
glad he was that he had kept the matter almost a 
secret, for the reward now was the greater. The 
poem on the “ rounded, rolling orb ” was flat and 
stale. What a mercy it was that the editors had had 
sufficient foresight to return it to him. It would 
have mortified him beyond the power of expression to 
have had it accepted and used. This, however, was 
worth while. This was a start of which he might 
justly be proud. His eyes sparkled and the bright- 
ness of the shining waters of the lake were to him but 
the reflection of his own feelings. Life was glorious 
and all things had conspired to make him happy. 

Suddenly he sprang to his feet and exclaimed, 
“ Excuse me a moment, Miss Stone. I must run to 
tell my father and mother about it.” 

“ They are on the corner of the piazza. I saw them 
there as I came past them. I wanted to tell them 
myself, but wasn’t I good to resist the temptation? 
I knew you would want to tell them yourself.” 

As Will darted from the room with the copies of 
the magazine in his hands he did not glance behind 
him, but when he returned, ten minutes later, there 
was a softened expression in his face. His enthusiasm 
was as marked as ever, but the interview with his 
father had produced an effect not there before. 






















v 

























































































Out in the canoe . . . the in 
terestof either did Hag.’ 

Page 285 




A CALL BY BONNETT 


285 


“ I’m all ready now,” he said quickly. “ We’ll start 
if you are ready too.” 

Out in the canoe jthe article in the “ Mogul Maga- 
zine ” still continued to be the topic o£ conversation, 
and apparently* the interest of eitKerYtid not flag. 

“ I should Have thought they’d have written me 
that they had accepted it,” said Will, when at last 
they turned toward the shore. 

“ Very likely they did. The letter may have gone 
to Winthrop and was not forwarded.” 

“ That’s so. I hadn’t thought of that. I’ll write 
the postmaster the first thing. I shouldn’t want 
that ” 

“That cheque?” laughingly interrupted Miss 
Stone. 

“ Yes, if you want to know,” acknowledged Will. 
“ How much do you suppose it will be ? ” 

“ I haven’t the slightest idea. You’d have written 
it whether you got anything for it or not, wouldn’t 
you?” she inquired seriously. 

“ I certainly should. I had to write it. But all the 
same, I am interested in what they consider it worth. 
It will be the first money I ever earned in all my life. 
I’d like to know what it will be.” 

“ It won’t be enough to retire on,” laughed the girl. 

“ ‘ Betire ’ ? Who’s talking about retiring, I’d like 
to know? I have just begun.” 

They were at the dock by this time, and when they 
returned to the hotel Will perceived that Mott, who 
was seated on the steps, had a copy of the “ Mogul ” 


286 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


in his hands and was busily reading. Will smiled a 
trifle self-consciously as he saw what the freshman 
(sophomore he now was, for Mott had successfully 
passed his examinations) was doing. It would have 
been a pleasure to stop and ask his opinion of the 
article, but the coolness between them was too pro- 
nounced for him to venture to do that, and so he 
passed on to his room. 

For several days the success of the young Winthrop 
senior was a topic of conversation among the guests 
of the hotel, but it soon ceased to be a matter of inter- 
est except to Will and his immediate family and 
friends, and then was dropped. There was a feeling 
of resentment in Wilks heart at the light manner in 
which his serious work had been received, but the 
reaction was but natural and he seldom referred to 
the matter. 

There was a revival of interest in a measure for 
him when a letter came which had been forwarded 
from Winthrop in response to his request. He tore it 
open with trembling hands, and when the pink slip 
which has been inclosed fell to the ground he 
pounced upon it with trembling hands. 

One hundred dollars ! The amount, which hitherto 
in the generous treatment he had received from, his 
father, now assumed large proportions. And he had 
earned it. Who said that literary men were always 
poverty-stricken? He entered upon a rapid calcula- 
tion in his thoughts. He might be able to write one 
article every month. But would the “ Mogul ” accept 


A CALL BY BONNETT 


287 


one monthly ? There had been nothing in the formal 
and printed note he had received which even barely 
hinted at a longing on the part of the editors to 
receive anything more from his pen. The momentary 
reaction, however, speedily passed and the feeling of 
deep satisfaction returned. 

Repeatedly during the remaining days of vacation, 
when he was alone in his room, he drew forth the 
magazine and read and re-read his article, every time 
with deep satisfaction. The praise his father had 
given him had been sweet, the sublime confidence of 
his mother, who declared “ she had known all the time 
that her boy could do anything he tried to do,” he had 
laughingly received as a matter of course, and the 
letters of congratulation that had been received were 
all a source of pleasure. 

Perhaps when he returned to Winthrop he was 
somewhat disappointed that he was not more gener- 
ally recognized as the man who had had an article 
in the “ Mogul Magazine ” when he was only a junior 
in college, but he wisely kept his feelings to himself, 
and if his pride had been hurt no one discovered it 
from any word or act of his. 

The work of senior year was largely a continuation 
of that of the junior year. Will explained to his 
room-mate that in his freshman year by solving the 
problem of Splinter he had mastered the work of the 
first two years. So by the inspiration of Doctor 
Brown he had gained the solution of the problem of 
the upper-classman. And yet Will Phelps, though he 


288 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


did his work in general in such a manner as to escape 
criticism and to “ pass,” was doing his utmost only in 
history. To this his own tastes drew him, but he 
nevertheless was aware that it was a desire to show 
the young professor that his smarting words had not 
been entirely deserved that held him steadily to his 
task. His candid criticisms Will sometimes laugh- 
ingly compared to the whip that produced an 
increased speed in a horse, but, whatever the cause, 
he was doing his utmost in this one department, and 
the feeling of satisfaction became stronger with the 
passing days as he realized that his labor was produ- 
cing something more than a mere “ showy 99 recitation, 
as Doctor Brown had so brutally hinted at the begin- 
ning of junior year. 

Mott he saw seldom. The sophomore still avoided 
him and all the adoration of the former days seemed 
to be gone. Tales came to him of the diligence of 
Mott in visiting the members of the incoming class, 
“for their own good,” as Mott expressly declared 
upon the occasion of such visits, but Will was too busy 
to give the reports much attention. 

The first real excitement of senior year came with 
the election of the class officers. The honors of this 
year were the greatest in their line of the course, and 
the eagerness with which preparations were made 
steadily increased. It was, therefore, with no sur- 
prise that Will received a call from Bonnett one night 
when Foster had left town for the evening. 

“ I came over to talk with you about the election, 


A CALL BY BONNETT 289 

Phelps,” said Bonnett, after a few preliminary words 
had been spoken. 

“ Yes ? ” responded Will, glancing keenly at his 
visitor. 

“ Are yon willing to go in and help ? ” 

“ Tell me straight just what you want, Bonnett.” 

“ I think the North Hall crowd would like to see 
Clark elected class president,” suggested Bonnett. 

“ I haven’t any question as to that,” laughed Will. 
“ 1 wouldn’t exclude Clark, either.” 

“Will you go in for him?” 

“ What’s your slate ? ” demanded Will. 

“ I haven’t any slate, as you call it.” 

“ Call it what you please. What is the list of names 
you’ve made out?” 

“ Why, we thought if Clark should be elected presi- 
dent and you and your crowd would go in for him — 
you know it was by their votes you were elected last 
year ” 

“ I don’t know any such thing ! ” interrupted Will 
warmly. “ I didn’t make any bargain.” 

“ No. No. Of course you didn’t. I was only 
speaking of the fact that those fellows all voted for 
you.” 

“ Who’s your man for vice-president ? ” 

“ Foster. Foster Bennett.” 

“ Why not make him president ? ” 

“ One of your men president in junior year and 
another in senior?” said Bonnett with a smile. 
“ You can see yourself that wouldn’t do.” 

T 


290 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ Why not ? It’s the man and not the fraternity 
you’re after, isn’t it?” 

“ Yes. Yes. Of course. Still, you have to recog- 
nize ” 

“No, I don’t have to ‘ recognize.’ As between 
Clark and Foster, Bonnett, you know me well enough 
to know whom I shall vote for. I’ll tell you right now 
that as long as water runs and fire burns I’ll never 
vote for Clark to be president of the best class that 
ever entered Old Winthrop, especially in senior year, 
when it means so much.” 

“ You mean that, do you ? ” 

“ Mean it ? Of course I mean it, and every word 
of it too ! ” 

“ Then there’s only one thing to be done.” 

“What’s that?” 

“ To re-elect you.” 

Startled as Will was by the suggestion, he threw 
back his head and laughed. “ Bonnett, why can’t you 
leave these things alone ? What do you want to have 
a finger in every pie for? You know it’s out of the 
question.” 

“ I know it isn’t out of the question,” said Bonnett 
slowly. “ You can have it if you will say the word 

and ” 

“ And what ? ” 

“ And say nothing. Honestly, Will, I don’t want to 
have my finger in any pie, certainly not in every pie, 
as you so kindly suggest. But just suppose no one 
goes ahead and does any planning? Suppose it’s all 


A CALL BY BONNETT 


291 


left to chance ? Why, there won’t be any 1 chance 9 
about it in that ease, and you know it. The first thing 
we know some gawk will be run in, and what a fine 
show we’ll make on class day ! ” 

There was an element of truth in what Bonnett was 
saying, as Will was compelled to acknowledge to him- 
self. The argument was specious and the proposal 
was certainly tempting. To be re-elected president — 
why, it was almost unheard of in the annals of Win- 
throp ! And he was reasonably convinced too, that 
Bonnett’s suggestion was not entirely impossible. 

“ Say the word,” suggested Bonnett, who had been 
keenly watching Will during the brief interval of 
silence. 

“ I’ll tell you, Bonnett ” Will suddenly ceased 

speaking as Clark, unannounced, entered the room. 
The man was a bore, but Will repressed his feeling of 
irritation at the unexpected and undesired entrance 
of his visitor. 

“ Sit down, Clark,” he said, pushing a chair toward 
the senior. 

The visitor complied, and Bonnett, making a wry 
face, arose. “I’ll see you again, Will. Think over 
the matter, will you ? ” 

Clark smiled blandly upon his classmates, but 
retained his seat, and Bonnett at once departed. 

“ Say, Phelps,” began Clark, when they were left to 
themselves, “what did Bonnett want?” 

Will swallowed twice and then said quietly, “ You’ll 
have to ask him, Clark.” 


292 WINNING HIS DEGREE 

“ I will. I didn’t know but he was talking about 
the class elections.” He waited a moment to give Will 
an opportunity to respond, but his host seemed to be 
unmindful of his privilege and Clark resumed. 
“ That’s what I came for.” 

“You did? That’s kind of you,” laughed Will, 
though he was deeply annoyed. 

“ Yes. The Y. M. C. A. elections come off to-mor- 
row night.” 

“ Do they ? ” 

“ Yes.” 

“ That’s the night before the election of class 
officers.” 

“ That’s so. But they won’t interfere,” said Clark 
glibly. “ Thompson, who was elected president, you 
know, had to leave college, and the vice-president is 
no good.” 

“ I thought Richardson was a good fellow.” 

“ Oh, he’s good enough. But the fellows want 
you.” 

“ Want me ? For what ? ” 

“ For president.” 

“ Who wants me ? ” 

“ All the fellows. That’s why I’m here.” 

Will looked at his visitor a moment in silence, and 
then with a laugh said, “ And the election of the 
Y. M. C. A. officers comes off the night before our 
class election.” And Will laughed again. 


CHAPTER XXX 

THE SENIOR CLASS ELECTIONS 

I DON’T see anything to laugh at,” said Clark 
soberly. “ The fellows have talked it over and 
that’s the way they all feel about it. It’s a great 
opportunity and a solemn responsibility, Phelps. You 
can’t deny that.” His classmate’s somewhat dismal 
tones caused Will to laugh heartily. The idea of 
Clark manipulating elections was preposterous. The 
fellow was sincere and doubtless in earnest, but the 
complete lack in him of the ability to appreciate the 
humorous side of life and his undeveloped powers of 
imagination somehow combined to make him a bore. 
In spite of his natural prejudice, nevertheless, the 
word which Clark had used made a deep impression 
on Will. He had never been a very active member 
of the association, not because he was opposed so 
much as because of his lack of sympathy with the 
aims and methods of some of the members. When 
he had first entered college he had joined, but it had 
been more because of his father’s suggestion than 
because he had felt especially drawn toward the body. 
Will even now did not realize that his father had 
advised him as he had chiefly because of his desire 
to have Will committed, in the early part of his 
course, to the better side of college life, and had 

293 


294 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


believed that in this way his boy would be saved from 
many a temptation, just because he was committed, 
and the student body would understand at once what 
his position was. Once a member, Will had been 
fairly active, though never a leader in the work, and 
Clark’s suggestion, as a consequence, had been at 
Will’s first thought almost a joke. The word “ oppor- 
tunity,” however, had lodged in his mind and he was 
not able to shake himself free from it even after his 
classmate had departed without receiving any deci- 
sive reply from Will, who at first had laughed at the 
“joke,” thinking that Clark might in this way be 
trying to prevent his re-election as class president. 

“ Opportunity.” Was it really an opportunity ? 
He had very decided convictions as to what the work 
of the association might be, and just because of that 
fact was Clark’s suggestion anything in the line of a 
true opportunity? He strove to banish the thought 
from his mind by the assurance that it was only Clark 
himself who had spoken and that the members doubt- 
less had other plans in mind and would never think 
of him for the position. He did not even go near the 
meeting, but was not surprised when that evening, 
after the meeting had adjourned, a committee came 
to him to inform him of his election as president. 

Will thanked his visitors and then assured them 
that he would give them his decision within two days. 

“ But we ought to know now,” protested Clark, who 
was a member of the committee. “ You see, our class 
election is held to-morrow night.” 


THE SENIOR CLASS ELECTIONS 


295 


“ So I understand,” replied Will dryly. “ Do you 
really want my decision now ? ” 

“ Oh, no. No. No!” exclaimed Clark hastily. 
“ Not in the least if it is to decline the honor.” 

A smile crept over the faces even of his fellow- 
committeemen at Clark’s words, but Thorn, for 
whom Will entertained as deep a feeling of respect 
for his genuine manliness as for any one in college, 
and who was also a member of the committee, said 
hastily, “ Take your time, Phelps. The truth is, we 
want you and we need you. Some things are not as — 
as we would like to have them ; and there isn’t a fellow 
who could straighten them out as you. I know how 
you feel and I think I know a little of what you are. 
We’d like to cut out all cant and gush, and get right 
down to the work of putting something into the 
Winthrop life that isn’t here now. We want a little 
of the lion as well as the lamb. We want to appeal to 
the masculine side. We know all about the gentleness 
and meekness and sympathy and tenderness, but we 
want a little of the ruggedness of it too. Some of the 
fellows don’t seem to understand that determination, 
and courage and nerve and strength are the qualities 
we want to help put into Winthrop, and we want some 
one who will command the respect of the whole college 
along these very lines. I tell you it’s a great oppor- 
tunity, Phelps ! ” 

Again the word “ opportunity.” Will flinched 
almost as if he had been touched upon a sore spot in 
his body. He looked straight at Thorn and said, 


296 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“ You’re good to say what you have, old man. because 
I know you well enough to understand that you mean 
it. I agree with you in all you say, but, Thorn, 
you’re the man for this place ! There isn’t any ques- 
tion about that.” 

“ You forget that I was president in junior year.” 

“ So you were. I was mightily interested to forget 
that, wasn’t I ? Well, what has that to do with it ? ” 
he added hastily. “ You can be re-elected, can’t 
you ? ” 

“ That won’t do,” spoke up Clark warmly. “ Of 
course, we aren’t discounting Thorn, for we all know 
what he is, but it never has been the custom in Win- 
throp to re-elect officers.” 

“ Hasn’t it ? ” said Will dryly, as he perceived the 
direction of his classmate’s thoughts. “ What of 
that ? Just because a thing never has been done isn’t 
any reason for saying it never shall be done, is it ? ” 

“ The fellows wouldn’t do it,” repeated Clark 
stolidly. “ You know as well as I that custom has the 
force of law here.” 

“Yes,” said Will half-angrily. “Yes, I know it. 
There are a lot of chaps here who haven’t individu- 
ality enough or force of character enough to think or 
act for themselves. They’re always looking back to 
see how it was done before they came here. They 
never had an idea and they never think, they only 
think they think. Bah ! There’s about as much life 
in them as there is in a dead leaf hanging on a 
branch of a tree in winter. You can’t shake it off. It 


THE SENIOR CLASS ELECTIONS 


297 


just hangs on and hasn’t even life enough to know it’s 
dead. That’s the way it is with a lot of the fellows 
who are forever hanging on to what has been. I’d 
rather be a prophet any day and be stoned to death, if 
I could only have my face toward the truth, than to 
be an historian forever digging among dead men’s 
bones and be applauded and glorified just because I 
couldn’t see in any direction except behind me.” 

" Why, Phelps,” said Clark hastily, somewhat 
abashed by the warmth of his classmate’s words, “I 
didn’t mean that, you know. I just meant ” 

" That’s all right, old man. Don’t say a word,” 
interrupted Will quickly. 

"Will you send us word or shall we come again, 
Phelps?” inquired Thorn rising. 

" I’ll let you know to-morrow morning.” 

" Good night, then,” said Thorn, preparing to 
depart. " Come along, Clark,” he added, as he per- 
ceived that the senior was inclined to remain. 

Left to himself, Will thought over his problem for 
a half-hour, and then he suddenly decided to go down 
and consult Doctor Brown. 

" Now, doctor,” he began when he had been wel- 
comed in the young professor’s room, " I’ve come to 
you because I need your advice.” 

"Matter of importance?” 

" To me it is. Now, I’ve been class president in 
junior year, and up to this time when the final elec- 
tion for the senior offices comes. There’s a good deal 
of division in the class and — and — well, it doesn’t 


298 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


sound very modest, I know, for me to say it, doctor, 
but — but — some of the fellows have been to me 
and said that if I would say the word they would all 
unite on me and I could be elected again.” 

There was a slight scowl on the young professor’s 
face as he said, “ I never thought very highly of col- 
lege politics, Phelps.” 

“ Neither do I,” responded Will warmly. “What 
I’m telling you isn’t because I believe in it, but 
because I’m giving you the facts.” 

“ Do you personally believe you could be 
re-elected ? ” 

“Yes, sir,” replied Will quietly, though the color 
flushed into his face as he spoke. 

“Very well. Why shouldn’t you be, then? I see 
no reason why you should not.” 

“Hold on a minute, doctor. I haven’t told you 
all. I was elected president of the Y. M. C. A. 
to-night.” 

“ And that will shut you out from the other ? ” 

“ Yes, sir, if I take it.” 

“ And if you should not ? ” 

“ Oh, then, I might be elected president of the 
class.” 

“ You want me to advise you what to do ? ” 

“If you please.” 

“ I might very easily give you my impression, but 
it is not my decision but your own that is required, I 
fancy,” said Doctor Brown pleasantly. 

“Yes, sir. I know. But let me explain. Just 


THE SENIOR CLASS ELECTIONS 


299 


suppose that I had been elected president of the Y. M. 
C. A. to-night by a clique that wanted to shut me out 
from the election to-morrow night. What would you 
do then?” 

“ I should promptly decline to accept the position.” 

“ But suppose there was another body that had 
worked hard for you because they felt — at least that’s 
what they were kind enough to say, doctor — that I 
could do perhaps a little more than some of the other 
fellows ” 

“ Have you been active in the work, Phelps ? ” 

“ Not very.” 

“ How do you feel about the matter yourself ? ” 
inquired Doctor Brown after a brief silence. 

“ Why, it’s this way ; of course, I should like to be 
class president. It’s a great honor and I know it 
would please my father immensely, and I’d rather 
please him than any one on earth — even myself, I 
sometimes think,” Will hastily added. “ On the other 
hand, both fellows who talked with me about the 
other place used a word that I can’t seem to get away 
from.” 

“ What was it ? ” 

“ Opportunity.” 

The professor smiled and there crept into his 
expression a tenderness which Will failed to see.' 
“ Phelps, let me tell you something.” Doctor Brown’s 
voice was clear and decisive, and Will looked up 
quickly. “ There are two questions — I mean two that 
are supreme among the many — which every man is 


300 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


compelled to face while he is in college. The first 
comes early in his course and is, * What am I going 
to make for myself of all this ? 5 That you met at the 
beginning of your junior year, just as you met it in 
another form in your freshman year, and in my own 
department you have settled that well. The other 
question is, ‘ What am I going to do with the results 
of my college work ? 5 There is an expression I heard 
when I was a senior myself — it was a word that one of 
the college preachers had used and I have never been 
able to get away from it." 

“ What was it ? ” 

“ ‘ Culture for service . 5 I seem to see it everywhere. 
I hear it in the night, I find it before me when I go 
into my classroom. ‘ Culture for service/ ‘ Culture 
for service/ 55 

“ You think, then, I would do better to accept the 
presidency of the Y. M. C. A .? 55 

“I do not say so,” replied Doctor Brown hastily. 
“The distasteful is not always synonymous with 
duty. A man is in duty bound to make the most of 
himself, so that his greater culture may be of greater 
service. It is simply a question of the position which 

will afford the greater opportunity 55 

“ Ah, there it is again ! 55 interrupted Will with a 
laugh. “It is always ‘opportunity/” 

“ ‘ Always 5 ? I thought opportunity had wings on 
her feet and that the back of her head was bald / 5 
“ So it is. I see what you mean. Thank you for 
your words. Good night ! 55 




1 see what you mean. Thank you 
for your words. Goodnight.’” 

Page 301. 




THE SENIOB CLASS ELECTIONS 


301 


Directly from Doctor Brown’s room Will Phelps 
went to Thorn’s humble quarters in North Hall. 
“ I’ve come to tell you that I accept the position of 
president,” he said as soon as he had been admitted. 

“ Good ! Good for you, Phelps ! I mean just what 
I say. It will be good for the association, but it will 
be better for you. And I speak from experience.” 

“ Perhaps not just like mine,” suggested Will. 

“ Not exactly. But, Phelps, don’t you suppose I 
know' just what this has cost? Don’t you think I 
knew what Bonnett’s plans were?” Thorn grasped 
Will’s hand as his classmate arose to depart, but not 
another word was spoken. 

Almost on fire with a sudden resolution he had 
formed, Will ran back to his room, consulted with 
Foster, and in a brief time both departed from the 
building. It was long after midnight when the two 
seniors returned, but there was an expression of satis- 
faction on each of the boyish faces when they com- 
pared their experiences, but their labors were resumed 
on the following morning and continued without 
interruption until late in the afternoon. 

The purpose and results became apparent in the 
class meeting that followed, when Will, in what his 
friends were pleased to term “ the speech of his life,” 
nominated Thorn for president. Will’s speech was 
followed by a ringing one from Aldridge, the prize 
debater of his class, and almost before they were 
aware of what was being done Thorn was declared 
elected president of the senior class. 


302 


WINNING HIS DEGKEE 


The face of the newly elected president was a study. 
Blank amazement and consternation were followed by 
an expression of eagerness, which in turn was fol- 
lowed by a look which not one of his friends had ever 
seen upon his face. Indeed, when, in response to the 
call, he advanced to the chair, it was evident for a 
moment that he was barely able to speak. A strange 
hush fell over the class, but in a moment it passed 
and the election proceeded with the dignity that the 
new presiding officer imparted to the proceedings. 

To Will’s great surprise he was himself elected to 
be the class poet, and though he sincerely “ desired to 
be excused,” he did not refer to his feelings and with 
apparent gratitude accepted the honor, though the 
words of the “ rounded, rolling orb ” somehow seemed 
to be sounding in his ears all the time he was speak- 
ing. He forgot his own feeling, which had been born 
of his knowledge that much, too much doubtless, 
would be expected of him, when, as the class dispersed, 
Clark approached him and in a savage whisper said, 
“ I want a word with you, Phelps ! ” 


CHAPTER XXXI 


CONCLUSION 

I DON’T like this ! I don’t like it a little bit ! ” 
said Clark angrily, when he and Will had with- 
drawn from the room in which the class meeting 
had been held. 

“ Don’t like what ? ” inquired Will, as with a smile 
of amusement he faced his classmate. 

“ I ought to have been elected president, and you 
know it ! Last year, we — that is, some of the fellows 
— made a deal with Bonnett’s crowd and we stood by 
you for class president. Now, you know as well as I 

that you were to stand by me this year ” 

“ I don’t know anything of the kind ! ” interrupted 
Will sharply. “ I never made a e deal,’ as you call it, 
and I never gave a promise. I didn’t try to get the 
office last year, and, if you’ll ask Bonnett, he’ll tell 
you that I told him I wouldn’t take it.” 

“ But you did take it.” 

“ Yes. I couldn’t help myself.” 

“ I guess you could have helped it if you had tried 
very hard,” said Clark so soberly that the exclama- 
tion of anger that rose to Will’s lips was not spoken. 
The man evidently was in earnest and really felt that 
he had been deprived of his deserts. It was pitiful 
but none the less true, and Will’s feeling of irritation 

303 


304 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


gave place to one of mingled contempt and com- 
passion. 

“ You know,” continued Clark, “ that I am as good 
a speaker as Thorn, and I have stood as high in the 
class as he has. I think the class looks up to me and 
honors me just as much as it does Thorn. I can write 
as well as he, and I cannot understand why you 
should have turned against me.” 

“ I didn’t turn against you,” responded Will 
quietly, restraining his feeling of disgust at the atti- 
tude of his classmate. 

“ You worked for Thorn,” suggested Clark. 

“ Certainty. I like him. He is modest and he is 
as true as steel. But because one worked for Thorn it 
doesn’t mean that he worked against any one else.” 

“ I should have been elected if you hadn’t done 
what you did. And I worked for you to be elected 
president of the Y. M. C. A. too. I did not vote for 
you to be class poet.” 

“ That was your privilege, and, for my part, I wish 
more had thought as you did. You mustn’t blame me, 
then, because I didn’t vote for you. Good-by.” Will 
turned sharply about and departed from the room. 

In the days that came and went so swiftly the feel- 
ing of satisfaction in the class was so evident that 
even Clark’s protest went no further. With his work 
in history, which still remained supreme in Will’s 
plans, his labors in behalf of the association of which 
he was president, and the preparation of the poem 
which he must as class poet read on class day of com- 


CONCLUSION 


305 


meneement week, his time was fully occupied. There 
was not only an enthusiasm in the varied tasks but 
also an unusual feeling that arose from the knowledge 
that now everything was being done for the last time. 

The foot-ball games, the track meets, etc., all were 
so enthusiastically applauded and appreciated by the 
seniors that they became almost as exuberant as the 
freshmen, though from a markedly different motive. 

In his work for the Y. M. C. A. Will had been 
enabled to carry out a few of his own ideas, but he 
appreciated the prophecy of Thorn in that he himself 
had been the one to gain most. He had striven to be 
natural and he had the satisfaction of perceiving that 
a freshness and directness had drawn some helpers 
upon whose aid he relied. But when the year drew 
near to its close Mott was still as distant and appar- 
ently hostile as he had been through the long period 
since the break came. Will on one or two occasions 
had endeavored to draw the fellow to him, but he had 
been so quietly and yet positively rebuffed that the 
senior had made no further advances. 

Will was, therefore, the more surprised when one 
night about a week before the year ended Mott came 
to his room. 

“ Alone, Phelps ? ” inquired Mott as he entered. 
“ I believe I used to call you ‘ Mr. Phelps 9 when I 
was a freshman.” 

“ That belongs to the pre-historic times,” responded 
Will pleasantly. “ Yes. Fm alone. Sit down, Mott. 
Have a chair.” 

u 


306 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


The sophomore accepted the invitation and then he 
turned directly to Will and said, “ It's about time we 
had an understanding, isn't it ? " 

“Yes, I think it is." 

“ You never understood me, Phelps." 

“That's more than likely." 

“ For a long time I haven't been able to get over 
what you said to me.” 

“What did I say?" 

“ You accused me — of — of — stealing." 

“I don't think I did quite that," replied Will 
hastily. 

“ Oh, no, not in direct words, but you implied it." 

Will was silent, for he was unable to deny the state- 
ment of Mott. 

“ You see, I felt it all the more because I knew who 
had done the stealing and I thought you ought to 
know too. At least you ought to have seen enough 
to know that I — I — wouldn't be guilty of it." 

“You — knew — who — did — it?" said Will slowly. 

“ That's what I said." 

“Why didn't you tell me?" 

“Because I didn't want to. You wouldn't have 
told, Phelps." 

“ I don't know about that. How did you find out ? " 

Mott hesitated a minute and then said, “I was 
sitting here in your room one day — you know I was 
a sort of shadow for you when I was a freshman, and 
— that day when I heard you coming up the stairs I 
ran to your bedroom. I don't just know what made 


CONCLUSION 


307 


me do it, but I did. Well, it wasn’t you that came, 
after all.” 

“ Who was it ? ” 

Mott smiled and shook his head as he said, “ I 
didn’t think very much about it and I was just going 
to come out of the bedroom when I saw that the fellow 
was searching Bennett’s desk. I shouldn’t have 
thought very much about that, either, only the fellow 
ran from the room in a few moments and he went on 
his tiptoes. It didn’t look just right, but I never' 
dreamed that — that the fellow wasn’t perfectly 
straight. I should probably have forgotten all about 
it if it hadn’t been for that talk you had with me. It 
made me mad, of course, but it opened my eyes too. 
I thought of what I had seen going on that day in 
your room and so I went straight to the fellow. And 
I made him disgorge. He was scared, and the worst 
of it was, he didn’t have a cent of money.” 

“ But money and watch were both brought back.” 

“ Yes, he gave up the watch.” 

“How about the money? You say he didn’t have 
any.” 

“ Hot a cent.” 

“ Where did it come from, then ? ” 

Mott was silent a moment before he said, “ I can’t 
explain that.” 

“ Then I can,” said Will quickly. “ You made that 
up yourself.” 

“I’m never called very flush,” responded Mott, a 
trifle uneasily. 


308 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


“Mott, you paid the money back for the fellow 
yourself,” repeated Will. 

“ That’s what you say.” 

“ That’s what you did, now, didn’t you ? ” 

“ Well, you see, I didn’t want any of you to lose, 
and, besides, it was not a very huge amount, anyway.” 

Will’s eyes were shining as he looked at his visitor. 
“Mott,” he exclaimed as he leaped from his chair, 
“ what a fool I was ! I never can forgive myself ! 
Never! Honestly, though, I was more troubled than 
you ever thought I was. I was afraid you’d got into 
debt or some scrape or other and had not stopped to 
think of what you were doing. And yet I never 
really believed you were guilty. I couldn’t, though 
you’ll have to acknowledge that perhaps some things 
didn’t look just right.” 

“ Of course they didn’t,” assented Mott. “ I knew 
it. I knew it all the time, but I couldn’t say a word, 
because I was tied up to the fellow, you see.” 

“Mott, I was to blame.” 

“So was I. Ho you know what brought me to 
time ? ” 

“ No. What was it ? ” 

“ When you gave up the presidency of the class and 
took the place in the Y. M. C. A. I’m not very much 
of a Y. M. C. A. man myself, but I knew what that 
cost you. And I can tell you it counted with me too.” 

Will’s eyes were shining as he said, “I never 
thought of that.” 

“Naturally. Are bygones bygone, Phelps?” 


CONCLUSION 


309 


“ They certainly are for me ! We’ve had our worm- 
wood and our gall.” 

“ Not very much of the former. More of the latter 
for me.” 

Will laughed, and the two clasped hands. When 
Mott departed Will could hear him as he shouted up 
the stairway, “ Thou rapid, rolling, rounded orb,” 
and the senior laughed aloud. Old times were back 
again and it almost seemed as if all things conspired 
to make the closing days of his college course the 
brightest and most tender of all. 

Will’s standing in his class had not been sufficiently 
high to secure for him a part on the commencement 
programme, but his delight over the honors that 
Foster received was almost as keen as his classmate’s. 
When the prizes were announced and Will heard his 
own name called as that of the one to whom the 
second prize in history was awarded, his amazement 
was almost as great as his pleasure. He had worked 
in that department and worked hard, but had never 
a thought of winning a prize. 

His mother was in Winthrop for the closing days, 
but Will’s father had been unable to be present. Keen 
as Will’s disappointment was, he was compelled to be 
busy all the time, but he daily sent his father a tele- 
gram. Miss Stone was in attendance, and the appear- 
ance of Winthrop, with its beautiful lawns, its ivy- 
covered buildings, the bright skies, and the crowds of 
eager, interested people, old and young, combined to 
make the scene and experience indeed memorable. 


310 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


On class day the seniors in cap and gown marched 
to the campus adjoining the chapel, and there, after 
the class ivy had been planted, they seated themselves 
in a semicircle on the lawn, and the exercises of the 
day were held. Will’s poem was declared to be 
“ immense,” and the historian and prophet fairly 
outdid themselves. The assembly warmly applauded 
everything that was done, and it was Mott who led the 
cheering when Will's poem was read. 

On the following day the commencement exercises 
proper were held, and in dignity and state the gradu- 
ating class, still in cap and gown, filed, for the last 
time as students, into the familiar pews of the old 
chapel. Will was not aware of all that occurred, his 
thoughts were in such a whirl, but when at last the 
speeches, both those in Latin and those in English, 
had been delivered, and the diplomas and degrees had 
been bestowed, the class departed, realizing that now 
the goal before them for four years was reached, that 
they were no longer students at Winthrop, but had 
taken their places among the alumni. 

As soon as he was free Will ran to the telegraph 
office and sent the following message to his father : 

“ Educated ! Yours truly, W. Phelps, B. A.” 

On his way back he joined his mother, who was 
walking with Miss Stone. His eyes were shining, and 
his excitement was evident. “ I can’t bear to leave it 
all,” he said. “ I love these hills and trees, every 
one ! I don’t want to go to the city. I’d rather stay 
right here. I think I have become a good deal of a 


CONCLUSION 


311 


farmer,” he added demurely. “ At least I love the 
fields and rocks and hills. I shall miss them.” 

“ You’ve gained something, though,” suggested 
Miss Stone. 

“ Yes. I know that’s so.” 

“ You have at least ‘ won a good degree.’ I heard 
Doctor Brown say that you had won it too. He said 
you had paid a good price, but you had received what 
you deserved.” 

“ Did he say that?” inquired Will eagerly. 

“ Yes. He seems to be very fond of you. Will,” 
said Mrs. Phelps. 

“ It’s worth a course in Winthrop just to meet that 
man ! ” exclaimed Will. “ He taught me history — 
and some things besides. Some of the other men 
know as much as he does, but there isn’t the same — 
oh, I don’t know just what to call it — the same sort 
of life. They’re too much machines ; he’s a man.” 

“ Here comes Alfred ! ” said Miss Stone, as she per- 
ceived Mott approaching. 

“ Thou rapid, rolling, rounded orb ! ” exclaimed 
Mott, stopping and in loud tones addressing the sun. 

“ Drop that ! ” ordered Will sharply, though he 
laughed as he spoke. 

“ Certainly,” responded Mott, bowing low. “ Any 
other commands ? ” 

“ Hot just now.” 

“ I tell you, Phelps,” said Mott, quickly changing 
his tone, “ you have certainly won out in your college 
course. Track team, tennis, literary work, prize in 


312 


WINNING HIS DEGREE 


history, and, last of all, your degree. But Fve learned 
one thing, and that is that everything has a price, 
and even a college degree has to be paid for.” 

“ Yes, but it all pays too,” said Will. 

Mott again bowed and said, “ I know you speak the 
words of truth and soberness. You have got the 
goods you paid for. Let your mantle fall on me, thou 
venerable Bachelor of Arts.” 












































































































































































































































































































































































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